


What the Storm Brings

by movieaddictdoctor



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alex is a gunslinger, Alternative Universe - Wild West, Attempt at angst, Danvarias, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Lena is an old timey doctor, Ruby is a ball of sunshine, Sam also has powers, SuperCorp, Wild West AU, a lot more fluff than intended, and is terrible at keeping it a secret, kara has powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2019-10-23 13:04:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17684006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/movieaddictdoctor/pseuds/movieaddictdoctor
Summary: Lena, Sam and Ruby are living in a ranch miles away from the nearest town, getting on by themselves. They are prepared for anything, being a woman in the so called wild west isn’t easy after all. But one day, during one of the worst storms of the decade, a woman comes knocking with her sister in her arms. Are they ready for this?





	1. The Wounded Gunslinger

Lena threw another log into the fireplace. Lightning struck, making the room white for a second, followed by the loud sound of thunder.

“That one was closer, wasn’t it?” Ruby said, when she walked into the living room. She was finished securing the kitchen.

“I think so.” Lena replied. She stood up from managing the fire, and wiped her hands on her pants. Rain was pouring down on the roof. She hoped the fireplace would be enough to keep them warm and make it through the storm.

Ruby put her tools on the side table and settled in front of the fire. Lena smiled and patted her on the hair. She started one last check around the house, to make sure there were no leaks or drafts. After she finished checking the last room, she returned to the fireplace, and sat down next to Ruby.

Ruby leaned her head against Lena’s shoulder, and together, they listened to the calming sounds of the rain and fire mixed together.

Their quiet moment was interrupted when Sam loudly opened the front door, and hurried inside. She was drenched. Lena and Ruby got up from their comfortable position and walked to the hall to help her.

“You know I promised I wouldn’t say it but...” Lena said with a smile, which had the qualities of an actual smile, mixed with scolding. Ruby smiled at that, and went into the master bedroom to get a towel.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sam said while taking off her coat. “Go on, I deserve it.”

“I told you a storm was coming. But you didn’t listen.” Lena said. She held Sam by the shoulders, and dragged her to warm up in front of the fireplace. Sam was nodding along as Lena went on. “I told you we had to fix the drain, and put a barricade in the stable.” 

“But I did all them.” Sam said, she took the towel Ruby bringed, and started drying her hair.

“Today.” Lena said and hit her on the shoulder. “If you did them yesterday, you wouldn’t look like a sack of old prunes.” She left Sam by the fire and went to the kitchen. She came back with the tea kettle. 

After Sam was sufficiently dry for Lena’s taste, the three of them settled around the small side table. Each of them had a hot cup of tea, and a set of cards in their hands.

“Are you sure you want to go on with that hand?” Ruby said with a smug smile.

“Oh yes, I am sure.” Lena countered with an intense stare.

Sam, who had already folded, looked at Ruby then Lena. “You guys know we are playing for teaspoons, right?” She showed the spoons they were using as chips. “This is for fun.”

“Oh mom, this is for bragging rights.” Ruby said. “And aunt Lena cleaning the stables for a week.” she added.

“You’re on.” Lena said. “And Sam, you’re just mad because you keep folding.”

Lena and Ruby laughed at that, while Sam said “God, I can’t believe you guys.”

Amidst the sounds of the rain and thunder, they heard the distinguished sound of horses. They all stopped in an instant and listened, the sound was getting closer.

“Did you hear that?” Sam asked. They were miles away from the nearest town, or a proper road, and their horses were secure. The sound only meant that there was someone else on the ranch.

“Yeah.” Lena answered, her smiling face from a moment ago was gone, replaced with worry. “I’ll get the rifle, you get the shotgun.” she said and got up in an instant, followed by Sam.

Lena found the rifle by a nearby closet and loaded it with the bullets next to it. On the other side of the room, Sam was doing the same thing for the shotgun. Ruby was standing next to Sam, watching them.

Sam finished loading her gun and turned to Ruby. She saw that Ruby was as worried as them, so she put a comforting hand on her shoulder, while holding the gun on the other.

“Don’t worry, pumpkin. Whatever it is, we’ll take care of it.” Sam said and kissed Ruby on the forehead. “We always do.” she added.

Lena walked over to them and stood in front of Ruby. She went for a comforting smile, and said “You know where to hide. And don’t come out unless you hear from us.”

Ruby nodded and stepped back, going for her secret hiding spot. Lena had made sure to install hidden compartments around the ranch, for Ruby’s safety, while they dealt with whatever trouble came knocking. 

Sam looked after Ruby for a moment, until Lena interrupted her with a “Let’s go.”. She turned to Lena and said “Let’s go.”.

Lena stayed behind Sam, while Sam opened the front door, and they walked outside with their guns aimed forward.

Moon was only providing a small light in the night sky, and the rain insistently pouring down didn’t help them to see any better. But there, infront of them, were two horses.

“Whoever you are, it’s best that you turn around.” Lena shouted while slowly walking closer to the horses.

“Please, my sister...” a voice came, barely audible over the rain.

Sam walked closer too. A lightning struck in the distance, drowning them in light for a moment. And she saw a figure standing next to the horses.

“She is hurt, I don’t know what to do...” the figure said, clearly a woman’s voice. Sam realized what the woman was holding. She had someone in her arms, but she was having a hard time standing up herself.

Sam lowered her weapon. She started walking towards the figure. Lena walked behind her. “Sam.” she said, “What are you doing?”. She reached Sam and stopped her by holding her arm. “We don’t know these people.” she whispered.

“Yes, but they need our help.” Sam said, she shook off Lena’s hand and kept walking. “Can you walk?” she asked the woman.

“Yeah, I think so.” the woman replied, she took a few steps towards Sam but she fell to her knees, still holding her sister in her arms. Sam quicky got to her to help, but the woman took a deep breath and got up.

Trusting her to make it to the house, “Follow me.” Sam said and turned towards the house. “For God’s sake!” she heard Lena curse behind them. She didn’t blame her, after all they didn’t know these women, and had no obligations to help them, but something in the way the woman said ‘sister’ convinced her to help.

While Sam helped the woman get inside, Lena quickly hitched their horses next to the house and followed them. She wasn’t all too trusting when it came to strangers. They had their share when it came to protecting the ranch, hence the guns and hiding spots, but she trusted Sam’s instincts.

“Bring her over here.” Sam said and indicated the dinner table near the kitchen door. “Ruby, you can come out now.” she shouted towards the back and went to the table.

The woman, who Sam actually saw now thanks to the light inside, was younger than she had guessed. She had long blonde hair, which stuck to her face because of the rain, and clear blue eyes. She gently lowered her sister on the table and leaned her hands on it.

Sam looked at the woman on the table, who looked older than the one next to her. She had short hair the color of flames, all the more surprised Sam. Her trance was interrupted when Lena loudly secured the front doors and walked to the table. Ruby also came from the other room.

“Who are they?” Ruby asked after seeing the situation in the living room.

“Ah, Ruby, go get some blankets from the other room.” Sam said, Ruby didn’t ask ‘Why?’, when she realized her mum’s seriousness.

Lena looked at the woman on the table. “We need to take off those wet clothes.” she said, she was a woman of action after all. The blonde woman helped her to get the unconscious one’s jacket off, revealing a white shirt. Or what used to be a white shirt, which was now mostly red with a hole on the side.

“This is a bullet wound.” Lena exclaimed. “Did she get shot elsewhere?” she asked and stared at the blonde woman. Seeing the sadness in those blue eyes made her feel guilty for being harsh, but she needed the information in order to help.

“On her right thigh, I think.” the woman answered, she was starting to shiver.

Lena quickly looked at the wounded woman’s pants, and found the bullet hole. “Sam, help me turn her over.” Lena said and Sam walked to the other side of the table. She held from the other side while Lena looked for an exit wound.

“Okay.” Lena said and they lowered the woman on the table again.

“What is it?” the blonde woman asked, “What’s wrong?” She was staring at Lena to say something.

“I... Her leg looks good. But there is no exit wound on her back.” Lena slowly said.

“What... what does that mean?” the woman asked.

“The bullet is still inside.” Sam answered for Lena.

“Please, can’t you help her?” the woman asked with tears. “Please...”

Ruby walked to the table with blankets in her arms, and Sam got one of them. Ruby left the rest on a chair. Sam unfolded the blanket and draped it across the woman’s shoulders. She held her with a side hug while she cried, and looked at Lena.

Lena felt her mind speed up. How could she help this woman? She wasn’t an actual doctor, and the actual doctor lived in the town, miles away. There was no way they could make it in the storm. ‘Stop it.’ she thought to herself. Only reason she wasn’t regarded as an actual doctor was because of her gender, not her capabilities. She had the same training and knowledge as any of them.

“I can help her.” Lena said after gathering her confidence. She stepped back from the desk. “Take the rest of the clothes off while I go get my instruments. Ruby boil a pot of water, then get my scotch from the cupboard.” 

Everyone quickly went to their appointed duties, while Lena ran to her room and reached for the bag under her bed. She remembered her father for a moment; a renowned surgeon in the city, who thought her everything he knew about medicine. The bag used to belong to him, and it made Lena wish he was there, helping her.

Lena walked back into the living room to find Sam sitting next to the blonde woman. The woman with the bullet wounds was now covered by one of the blankets. Her requested bottle of scotch was next to her on the table. Ruby was waiting next to the fire waiting for the water to boil. They all looked up when Lena entered the room.

She walked over to Ruby and reached in her bag. She found the leather bind and opened it, revealing a set of metal surgical tools. “Can you put those in the water when it starts to boil?” Lena asked Ruby.

“Sure. What does it do?” Ruby asked curiously.

“It makes sure the wound doesn’t get infected. That’s why we needed the alcohol too.” Lena answered. She loved it when Ruby showed interest in her work.

Lena left Ruby by the fire and walked over to the table. “Is there anything I can do?” the blonde got up from the chair and asked. “Actually there is.” Lena replied, the woman was waiting with rapt attention. “You can tell me your name.” Lena said with a slight smile.

First time that night the woman had the hints of a smile too. “Kara. My name is Kara Danvers. And my sister’s name is Alex.”

“I am Lena.” Lena said, she showed Sam with her hand “That is my cousin Sam.” she showed Ruby “And that is her daughter Ruby. I wish we met under different circumstances.”. 

“That makes two of us.” Kara said and looked at Alex’s face. 

“Kara.” Lena said moving to stand next to Kara. “When I start, you can’t stay in this room.”

“What?!” Kara exclaimed. “I can’t leave my sister.”.

“And you won’t.” Lena said, she put a comforting hand on Kara’s arm. “But I have seen enough family members lose it in the operating room, and I can’t let you do that.” Kara didn’t say anything, so Lena kept talking. “I will do everything in my power to help your sister. But this is not something you can see. Surgery is never a pleasent business.”

“Okay.” Kara said slowly after a moment, defeated.

“Good.” Lena said. She realized she was still touching Kara’s arm, which was surprisingly muscular, so she draw her hand back to her side a little embarressed.

“How are we looking Ruby?” Lena asked after checking Alex’s pulse, it was strong but they still had a bullet to get out.

“I just put the tools in. Now what?“ Ruby asked.

“Good. Can you show Kara here to the spare room?” Lena said while walking towards Ruby. She looked over the pot then turned to her. “And you stay with her, okay?”.

“But, I can help. I want to be your assistant.” Ruby protested.

Lena smiled. “I know.” she said and leaned closer to Ruby. “But maybe you can keep Kara’s mind of her sister.” she whispered.

Ruby looked at Kara then back at Lena. She gave a determined nod and whispered. “Sure thing.” She walked over to the table and got a hold of Kara’s hand. “Come with me. Do you know how to play poker? If not, I can teach you.”

Sam stared after Ruby until they closed the door behind them. She turned to Lena, who was walking over with the pot in her hands. “Now what?” Sam asked.

“Now, you hold her down.” Lena said and put the pot on one of the wooden chairs. She laid the cleanest sheet she had on another chair, and laid the tools out using a tong she had cleared with the scotch.

“Hold her down?” Sam asked. “But she is already unconscious.”. 

“She won’t be that way for long.” Lena answered grimly. She finished lining the equipment, and reached for the scotch. She brought the bottle to her mouth and took a swig. Sam stared at her in disbelief.

“What?” Lena said. “It’s procedure.” She took the blanket over Alex and lowered it to her ankles. The woman only had her underwear now. Lena poured some alcohol over the bullet wound on her abdomen. She felt the woman twitch a little, but she didn’t show any other sign that she was awake.

Lena poured some of the remaining alcohol on her hands and wringed her hands as if she was washing. Then she reached for the scapel, she needed it to expand the wound first, to get better access. “Hold her down by her shoulders.”. 

In the other room, Ruby already had a fire going on the fireplace and they were sitting on the carpet in front of it. Kara was trying to focus on Ruby’s words, trying to stay in the moment when a loud scream came from the living room.

Kara was ready to run in an instant, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned her head to find Ruby looking at her. “Don’t worry, Lena is the best at what she does.” Ruby said softly.

Kara held back her tears. “I hope so.” she said.

A loud expletive that no one should ever have to hear, came from the other room, followed by Lena screaming “Hold her down Sam!”. Even though Kara was red at hearing Alex’s colorful curse, she smiled. Her sister was still in there.

Ruby was smiling too. “Let’s play some cards.” she said.

“Okay, but you’ll have to teach me.” Kara replied.

After what felt like hours, Lena opened the door. She was wiping her hands on a towel, when both eyes in the room turned to her. Kara dropped her cards and got up, followed by Ruby.

“She is okay. I got the bullet out...” Lena said. Kara jumped to hug her before she could finish her sentence. Lena was caught off guard with her hands up in the air, then she hugged her back.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Kara said leaning back for a moment. Then she kissed Lena on the cheek, followed by another hug and left for the living room.

Lena was left in shock. Whether from the longest hug she ever had, or the kiss on the cheek, maybe even doing her first major surgery, she didn’t know.

Ruby stood in front of her and waved her hand a few times. Lena blinked and turned to Ruby. “She left, if you hadn’t noticed.” she said.

“I did notice, you smartmouth.” Lena said gathering her composure back.

“Sure didn’t seem like it.” Ruby said leaving the room.

Lena shook her head at Ruby’s sarcasm and followed back to the living room. Kara was holding Alex’s hand while Alex was passed out again. Lena didn’t expect her to be up again until noon tomorrow. Sam was cleaning around the table, gathering the dirty towels and blankets with Ruby’s help.

Lena looked at the ancient mechanical clock they had across the room. It showed a little over two in the morning. Seeing the time served as a reminder of how tiring the day they had was. She felt her bed beckoning her. This wasn’t how she had expected the day to go.


	2. The Sister with a Secret

Lena woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing. Her first instinct was to shoo him away from the house, then she remembered the storm. All the animals were safely tucked in. Meaning that she was just lucky enough to have an animal, whose sound echoed across the ranch.

After giving up on sleep, she stood up in her bed. The room was still dark, because the window blinds were still closed, but the small line of light falling on the bedroom floor indicated it was morning. She cracked her neck and streched her arms forward, then got up from the bed.

She walked to the window and lifted the glass window up. Then she opened the lock keeping the two wooden panels together in front of the window. She took a deep breath, and looked around. The musty aroma following the rain gave was one of her favorite things in the world. And the sun agreed with her. Other than the mud and the morning dew, there was no evidence of the heavy storm.

She started getting ready for the day, while thinking about last night. Out of the blue, they had two strangers in need of help, one of them, a woman with bullet wounds. She didn’t have time to learn who they were. She didn’t even know who shot at them. But she was fully intending to find out.

Lena tucked the ends of her white shirt into her long skirt. She looked into the old standing mirror on the side of the room. Pleased with her appearence, she opened the door.

Alex was moved into Ruby’s room last night. And Kara had insisted on staying there with her. Lena slowly opened the door to Ruby’s room and walked inside. She wanted to check on how Alex was doing first.

She saw Kara sleeping on the armchair by the window, she was too big to be sleeping there comfortably, but it was her decision. Lena walked over to the bed, trying to make as little noise as possible. She checked Alex’s pulse, then put a palm on her forehead to check for a fever.

After making sure Alex was fine, Lena stepped back, but a voice startled her. “How is she?” Kara asked, her voice was a little rough from just waking up.

Lena didn’t want to give an indication that she was surprised. She certainly didn’t want to give an indication that she liked Kara’s voice. “No fever, pulse is strong. She is going to be fine.” Lena answered slowly.

“Thank Rao.” Kara whispered. “God, thank god.” she added after seeing Lena’s raised eyebrows.

Her slip up didn’t go unnoticed by Lena, but before she could say anything Kara’s stomach growled loudly. “Sorry.” Kara said a little embarrassed.

“Don’t be. You must be famished.” Lena said with the flick of a hand. “I was about to prepare some breakfast, you are welcome to join me.” she added.

“Thanks.” Kara said and followed Lena to the kitchen. She was still wearing her own clothes, a riding pant and a flannel shirt tucked in. Her dark red vest was unbottened.

Lena crouched down in front of the fireplace and started a fire with ease of practice. She left the fire to get strong, and poured water on the tea kettle. After she had left the tea to brew, she turned around. Kara was waiting by the door frame, she seemed unsure whether to help or sit down.

Lena smiled at of unfamiliar Kara looked. She drew a chair next to the small kitchen table and patted it, as an indication for Kara to sit down. She found a loaf of bread and some cheese while Kara settled. She put the food in front of her.

“This should help until the actual breakfast.” Lena said and settled on the opposite chair.

At first Kara tried to go for small bites. But with each bite, she was reminded that she hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Before she realized it, half of the loaf was gone, and Lena was watching her with a peculiar expression. And she was interrupted by the whistle indicating the boiling water.

“Oh I am sorry. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” Kara said, she was starting the day with two ‘sorry’s already.

“Don’t be.” Lena said, she got up and gave Kara a pat on the shoulder on her way to the counter. Kara followed her walk with her eyes.

Lena came back with two mugs and handed one to Kara.

“Thanks.” Kara said while Lena settled back on her chair.

“So...” Lena said after a sip. “How did your sister get shot?” she asked, going for the heart of the matter.

Kara coughed in to her mug, she wasn’t expecting the question to be that direct. “Bandits.” she answered. “We were ambushed by bandits.”

“How did you survive, just the two of you?” Lena asked, two woman on the road, holding off a band of bandits didn’t seem plausible.

“I can ask you the same thing.” Kara countered as a way to divert the attention off herself.

“What do you mean?” Lena asked, she was holding her mug on her lap.

“From what I have seen, there is only the three of you here. And this is a dangerous territory.” Kara answered, she didn’t mean to be rude, but she also didn’t want to reveal why they were so far west from home.

“You should ask that to the Richards Brothers. Though they wouldn’t answer you, on account of being six feet under ground.” Lena said. She knew what Kara was trying to do, but she didn’t like the insinuation that they didn’t know how to handle themselves. 

Kara was surprised to hear that. But she wouldn’t expect anything less from the woman. Their first meeting was on different ends of a rifle after all.

“That’s impressive.” Kara said. “I am not good with a gun myself, but Alex was the best gun in our town.”. She smiled after remembering a particular memory. “She once joined an aiming competition disguised as a boy, because they wouldn’t let her join herself. When they gave her the prize for the first place, she just threw it up and shot it in the air.”

They both laughed at that. Lena didn’t even knew Alex yet, and still, the story suited her.

“So, you were attacked by bandits.” Lena said after a moment, bringing them back to the main subject. “And you found our ranch.” she added.

“We just rode until I saw your smoke in the distance.” Kara said. It was only half the truth, but it was enough.

Lena felt like Kara was purposefully leaving out the parts of her story, but before she could say anything, a door in the house opened and a loud yawn followed. She turned her head towards the hall to see Sam walking to the kitchen, still dressed in a nightgown.

“You’re up early.” Lena commented when Sam walked in to the kitchen.

“Ah, unfortunately Ruby still kicks in her sleep.” Sam said and reached for Lena’s cup. “I need coffee.” she took a sip but quickly spit it back in the cup. “Tea?!” she asked affronted. “God Lena, how Irish can you be?”

Kara watched their exchange with a sad smile, it reminded her of how she and Alex were. Sam turned her head to see Kara looking at them. “Did she give this to you too?” she said jokingly, after sensing Kara’s mood.

“I don’t mind really.” Kara answered.

“You know what, you don’t even deserve this.” Lena said and took her mug from Sam’s hands. Kara smiled at that, causing Sam to congragulate herself, she had succeeded in changing the mood of the room.

“By the way...” Sam said, “We can have breakfast now. I don’t think Ruby is going to be up any time soon. I tried to wake her. Name of the devil was involved. I am quite scared actually.” she laughed, joined by Lena and Kara.

~

Sam kept walking next to the fence surrounding the property. Lena had asked her to make sure they were all still standing, before releasing the animals from the stables and coops. She was almost finished going around, and so far only damage was to the old shed on the far end of the ranch.

‘Lena wanted to tear down that monstrosity anyway.’ Sam thought to herself. She finished checking the fence and turned back to the house. She saw Lena in the distance, but couldn’t make out what she was doing next to the Danvers’s horses.

“What are you doing?” Sam asked after leaning on one of the supporting beams.

“What does it look like?” Lena turned her head and said. She had her hands in one of the saddles. “I am getting information.” she added and continued searching.

“It looks more like you are snooping.” Sam said while taking off her hat.

Lena scoffed at that. “Call it what ever you like. They are hiding something, and I am going to find out what.” she said.

“You don’t trust anyone, that’s a big surprise.” Sam chuckled halfhartedly. “So what have you found so far?” she said and walked to stand next to Lena.

Lena lifted a gun belt. “Two Smith&Wesson’s.” she said put the belt back in to the saddle. “And this map.” she reached for the folded paper and opened it to show Sam.

“See these red marks...” Lena said and Sam answered with a “Yes.”. Lena continued “Those are all towns.”.

“Wait...” Sam said, she remembered some of the town names. “Didn’t James say someone was robbing banks?” she asked. “I think I saw these on the paper he brought with him last week.” she added.

Lena turned to look at Sam. “Do you think they had anything to do with that?” she asked.

“No, I don’t.” Sam said after considering it. “They don’t seem like the robbing kind. But you are right, this may not be a coincidence.”

“Wow, that’s a first.” Lena said, she added when Sam looked at her with confusion “You don’t usually believe me when I say something.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sam said and stepped back to lean on the railing. “You should put those back before Kara comes out and catches you.”

“Oh please.” Lena said with a chuckle. “I have a little helper, who is currently explaining her the entire book called Moby Dick.”

“God.” Sam groaned. “Can you please not use my daughter in your schemes?” she asked.

“The book was her idea.” Lena protested.

~

Ruby put her book back on the bookshelf. It was almost sundown, and everyone except her and Alex were outside, tending to the animals. Kara had insisted on being of use, after all that Lena had done for her sister.

Someone coughed, knowing that there was only one other person in the room, Ruby turned around. Alex was blinking, she tried to move but could only lean back to the bedpost.

“Ouch.” Alex said, she was feeling the muscles ache in her every limb.

“You shouldn’t try to move.” Ruby said and walked to the bed.

Alex turned her head to the sound. “Ah, where am I exactly?” she asked and swallowed painfully. She hadn’t had anything to drink in a while.

Ruby reacher for the pitcher on the night stand and poured a glass. She helped Alex drink it. “Thank you.” Alex said.

“To answer your question, you are in my bed.” Ruby said.

Alex smiled at the answer. “Okay.” she said. “And who are you?”

“I am Ruby Arias. Nice to meet you.” Ruby held out her hand, and Alex shook it somewhat weakly.

“Alex Danvers.” Alex said.

“Where are you from?” Ruby asked and settled on the armchair next to the bed. “Because you curse like a sailor.” she added. She was waving her legs on one of the arms, while leaning her back on the other.

“What?” Alex asked with shock. “When did we even talk before?”

“You don’t remember last night, do you?” Ruby said with a smile.

“Unfortunately I don’t.” Alex answered nodding.

“Well, your sister carried you in, and Lena, my aunt, had to do surgery on you. I was waiting here with Kara, so I didn’t see it.” Ruby gave her the run down of last night’s events. “But we heard you, and I am still not sure what some of those words mean, they weren’t in the books I’ve read before.”

Alex winched at that. She didn’t remember any of those things.

“And, aunt Lena says you almost punched my mom, before passing out. You’ve been out for 16 hours, at least.” Ruby said.

“Sorry about that.” Alex apologised.

The front door opened and Kara walked in to the room. “Alex!” she exlaimed and ran to the bed. “Aww.” Alex said to Kara’s crushing hug. Kara quickly drew back. “Did I hurt you? Are you okay? How are you feeling?” Kara fired the questions rapidly. “I am okay, stop worrying, please.” Alex answered.

Ruby got up from her position, she wanted to give them some alone time. “I’ll go find Lena.” she said and started walking towards the door.

“They’re in the stables.” Kara called after her and turned to Alex.

“I’m so glad you are okay.” Kara said and hugged Alex again.

“Yeah, me too.” Alex said. She leaned back to look at Kara’s face. “Kara.” she whispered. “What happened to Corben?” 

“He escaped.” Kara answered, whispering. “You were shot, and I wasn’t strong enough to catch him. I’m sorry, Alex.”

“Don’t say that.” Alex countered. “We’ll find him again.” she said with determination.

“How?” Kara asked. “The storm wiped out all the tracks.”

“He is a snake. He is bound to rear his head out again.” Alex answered.

“Okay.” Kara nodded. She heard the approaching footsteps. “Someone’s coming.” she warned Alex, their plans would have to wait.

Sam walked in to the house. She put her coat near the front door and walked in to Ruby’s room. Kara was sitting on the bed while Alex half-leaned against the bedpost. She couldn’t help but lock eyes with Alex and smile.

“Ruby told us you were up.” she said. “I am Sam, to refresh you memory.” she added.

Alex smiled. “Out of all the things your daughter has told me about last night, I am most sorry to have forgotten that.” she said, making Sam feel heated.

“Ehem.” Kara fake coughed, she couldn’t believe Alex had just said that. They were all saved when Lena entered the room.

“Good, you’re up.” Lena said and walked past Sam, who was standing by the door and seemingly avoiding eye contact with everyone. “How are you feeling?” she said and sat on the other side of the bed from Kara.

“Like I have been shot multiple times.” Alex answered.

Lena put her palm on Alex’s forehead, checking again for fever. Out of all the procedures she had seen in her father’s medical practice, nothing killed as much as infection. Which made her cautious, verging on obsessed.

“Still no fever, that’s a good sign.” Lena said. “I have to check your bandages too.” she said and looked at Alex for her consent.

“Go ahead.” Alex said with a nod.

Lena opened the bandage on Alex’s stomach, Alex tried to lean forward to see the wound herself.

“What did you use?” Alex asked curiously, after seeing the thread going across her skin.

“Oh, you don’t wanna know.” Sam commented from across the room.

Alex looked at her, than Lena. “Sheep entrails.” Lena answered. “Don’t worry, I learned from the best.” she added.

“Wow.” Alex said. “I really didn’t need to know that.” she smiled, making Sam laugh.

“These look good.” Lena said after inspecting both wounds. “But we have to change the bandages every morning and afternoon.”

“Sure. When can I get up?” Alex asked while trying to straighten her posture. She was immediately opposed by both Lena and Kara.

“You have to rest Alex.” Kara said, at the same time Lena was saying “Oh hell no.”

“You were shot. Twice, no less. You can’t put pressure on your leg until it heals properly.” Lena added to her previous statement.

“How long is that going to take?” Alex asked.

“At least three weeks.” Lena answered directly.

“What?” Alex exclamed, she didn’t like what Lena was suggesting at all.

Kara disregarded Alex’s question and turned to Lena. “Can she travel?” she asked. “We can’t stay here and burden you for that long.”

“Nonsense.” Sam said and walked closer to the bed. Kara turned to look at her. “You can stay here for as long as you need.” she said. Even though the sisters were obviously hiding something, she had a strange feeling they could be trusted.

“Exactly.” Lena added. “And it’s not a burden. You just helped us with the animals today. We were already thinking about finding someone from town. Stay and help us, then decide what you want to do, after your sister heals.” she offered.

Kara thought about Lena’s offer. They didn’t have a lead to find Corben again, and even if they did, Alex was in no condition to fight. Best thing to do would be to wait. “Deal.” she said and held out her hand. Lena shook her hand and said “Deal.”.

“Good. Great. Would anyone like to hear what I am thinking?” Alex asked. They all turned to her. “So while you are all frolicking around here, what am I supposed to do?” she asked in shock. “Stay in this bed?!”

“I think I can help with that.” Lena said with a smile. Plans for a new thing to build was already forming in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you all for your kind words. They literally made me dance around the house to Ace of Base-Beautiful Life. I had some free time today, so I decided to get this chapter up as soon as possible. It’s probably riddled with spelling errors so I apologize and will try to correct them. I can’t promise the next chapters will be up as fast as this one, but you’ll know it when I do!


	3. The Visitor from Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kind comments and support. I hope you enjoy this shorter chapter. :)

Lena arranged her hat again. Sun was almost at its highest point in the sky. She leaned back against the stable wall, she was already missing the rain.

It was the morning after Alex woke up, and today was the day James rode in from town. Per their aggreement, he would be at the ranch every week almost like clockwork, bringing them supplies and the news from town.

She turned her head towards the ranch gates. There, in the distance, a horse wagon was riding towards them. It would take a couple of minutes for it to reach the stables. She turned her head towards the house, the others were nowhere to be seen.

‘It’s for the best.’ she thought to herself. James didn’t need to know they had strangers living with them. Not before she knew who those strangers actually were, anyway.

“It’s a mighty beautiful morning, isn’t it Miss Luthor?” James said after stopping the horse. He jumped down from the riding seat. “You would forget the sky was cracking open just two days ago.” he said with a smile.

“Oh well.” Lena said and followed James to the back of the wagon. “I actually prefer that, to this humidity.” she said and fanned herself with her hat.

“Yeah, it’s looking good for the crops this year.” James commented. He lowered the back wall of the wagon. “I got the spices you asked for.” he reached into the wagon and retreived a small bag.

Lena put her hat back on and opened the bag. It was filled with small pouches. “Oh, thank you for that James. We were almost out of black pepper.” she said.

“No problem. I also put some chocolate powder in. The kids in town are going crazy over that stuff.” James said. “I hope the little lady likes it too.” he added with a smile.

“I am sure she can already smell it.” Lena joked. “Did you get the other thing I asked you for?” she asked.

“Of course, Miss Luthor.” James said and jumped on to the wagon. He lifted the medium size chest that was secured in the back, and put it in front of Lena. He crouched on the wagon floor.

“That old doctor wasn’t too happy I was looking for one.” he said conspirationally.

Lena unlocked the clasps and opened the chest. I was filled with small bottles, and syringes of every size was secured on the back of the cover. She ghosted her hand on top of the syringes, then looked at one of the bottles. It read ‘OPIUM’.

“There is more.” James said. He reached for the handle between the two rows of bottles and lifted it up. It revealed the bottom of the chest, with brand new surgical instruments.

“This is amazing James.” Lena said. She had asked for the set, the last time James were there. She had plans for it, plans that were still forming.

“Just be careful. The doctor thinks someone is going to compete against him and steal his patients.” James said and jumped back on the ground.

“Oh James...” Lena said and put the chest back together. She turned to him. “There isn’t going to be any competition.”

James smiled and nodded. “Good. Because he wouldn’t know the difference between a pregnant woman and a beer loving man, if it hit him in the head.” They both laughed at that.

“Any news from town?” Lena asked after they had finished laughing.

“Not much.” James said. He reached inside his vest pocket and retrieved the weekly gazette. “Apparently, someone tried to rob another bank.” he gave the paper to her.

Lena looked over the front page. “This is the only other town in this area.” she commented.

“Yes it is. But I wouldn’t get too worried about it.” James said. Lena turned to look at him. “Why is that?” she asked.

“They say two strangers rode into town and shoot them up before they could run away with the money.” James answered. “They say it was two woman, if you could believe it.”

Lena stared him down, and he quickly corrected himself. “I don’t mean because they were women.” he said. “Some of the folk say one of them had flames coming out of her eyes. It’s obvious that folk can’t handle their moonshine.” he finished with a chuckle.

“Hmmm.” Lena said, she had a feeling those two strangers were in her house at the moment.

“Anyways.” James said after sensing they were finished with the subject. “I saw the shed is almost falling apart.” he said and waved one hand in the shed’s general direction. “Do you need any help with that?”

“No, thank you. We can handle it.” she answered. “Really.” she added after sensing he was about to disagree.

“Well okay then.” James said and started walking towards the front of the wagon. “Do you need anything for next week, or just the usual?” he asked.

“The usual.” Lena answered and followed him. “Just a little more of Hank’s vegetables. I still haven’t gotten a hold of the farm here.”

“Sure thing.” James said and jumped on to the riding chair. “I’ll see you next week, Miss Luthor. Take care.” he said and tipped his hat as a goodby.

“You too.” Lena said and watched him turn the wagon around. He started to speed up, and soon he was gone.

She looked back at the gazette he brought. The headline said ‘Mysterious Heroes Save Town from the Vicious Corben Gang’. There was even a sketch of two people. Their faces were half shrouded by scarves, and it was impossible to guess who they were.

The article didn’t give any distinctive information. Two heroes were described as young and muscular men, one with long blonde hair. There wasn’t any description of ‘fire coming out of someone’s eyes’, as James had mentioned. And the article ended with saying the duo hastily left the scene after one of them got shot.

A lot of the pieces fit together. Other then the paper describing them as ‘men’, everything pointed at the Danvers’. “Why hide who you are if you were saving a town?” she murmured to herself. She stared towards the house. She didn’t see anyone, but she had an eeire feeling she was being watched.

~

Sam opened the door to Ruby’s room, causing Alex to startle. “Ah!” Alex said and dropped the book she was reading on the bed.

“Oh I am so sorry!” Sam said, she was carrying a set of clothes in her arms. “I thought you would be sleeping.”

“I think I have done enough sleeping to last me a while. I was just reading the book Ruby gave me.” Alex waved the book with her head. “She said it was about an ancient warrior, but this is pure horror.”

Sam smiled at that. “Yeah, she used to do the same to me too.” she walked closer to the bed. Alex was tracking her movements with her head. “I brought you some new clothes. I’m afraid the ones you came here with are beyond repair.” she said and put the pile on the armchair.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Alex said. “We’re causing you enough trouble already.”

“Actually, I like having other people around.” Sam said. “We don’t go into town much.”

“Why is that?” Alex asked. “You are way too beautiful to be staying here all by yourself.” she couldn’t believe what just came out of her mouth, but she went with it.

“Maybe you can change that.” Sam countered, two could play at this game after all.

“Yeah.” Alex chuckled to hide her embarrassment. “I would love too, but it seems like I am bound to this room. I haven’t even seen the outside, except from that window.” she said and indicated the open window.

“I think I saw Lena working near the stables. Don’t worry, you won’t be ‘bound to this room’ for long.” Sam said with a smile and turned towards the door. She stopped when she remembered what was in her pocket.

“Oh, I found this pinned to your old shirt.” she reached in her pocket and held the item for Alex. It was a golden, six pointed star, a sheriff’s star. Alex took the star with one hand.

“Thank you.” Alex said softly, staring at the star. “I thought I had lost it.”

“Maybe, when you get out of this room, you can tell me the story behind that star.” Sam said and left the room.

“Maybe.” Alex said after her.

~

“Ruby said you needed this.” Kara said. She was carrying an old rocking chair. Lena looked at her in surprise. Kara was single handedly carrying the heavy chair, without breaking a sweat. She had the old shirt and pants Lena had given her to use for ranch work, and still she managed to look good.

Kara dropped the chair on the ground, in front of Lena. Suddenly out of her reverie, Lena talked. “Oh yes. Thank you. I was coming to help you with that, but you beat me to it.”

“No problem.” Kara smiled. She took off her hat and leaned against the side of the stables. “What are you planning to do with that?” she asked.

Lena crouched next to the chair and started inspecting it. “I was thinking, if we saw off the legs...” she touched the chair. “Maybe we can install wheels on the sides. There are some wheels behind the coop, and they are to small for a wagon.” she stood up. “If they don’t work, we can make new ones.”

“That is pretty practical.” Kara said, she was impressed at how simple Lena’s solution was. “You are amazing, you know.” she added.

Lena wanted to object, but Kara talked before her. “I mean it. You saved my sister’s life, and now you are building her a chair with wheels, so that she doesn’t get all cooped up inside.”

“Well, I am actually repurposing some old material and bringing them together. And it’s not even done yet.” Lena said, she was starting to blush from all the compliments.

“Then I’ll help you with that.” Kara said and started rolling the sleeves of her shirt. Lena was staring at Kara’s arms, but she snapped back before Kara caught her.

“Yes. Help. Great.” Lena said and gulped, she wouldn’t mind watching Kara work. Not one bit. 

~

“How’s the pain?” Lena asked. She was inspecting Alex’s bandages, before calling it a night.

“I can handle it.” Alex said. She was good at masking the pain, but Lena saw right through it.

“Are you sure?” Lena asked. “Because I just got a fresh batch of medicine that would make you feel high as a kite.” she smiled.

“That’s good an all doc, but I am trying to stay away from that.” Alex said. She was trying to stay ‘dry’, or ‘sober’ as some called it, and she had seen what some of those drugs did to people.

“I can respect that.” Lena said. “And we have a surprise for you.” she added.

Taking that as her que, Kara came into the room rolling a wheelchair in front of her. Alex was surprised that they had managed to make a brand new one, in such a short time.

“Before you try to get on it, just find one of us. I don’t want you to fall too.” Kara said, parking the chair next to the bed.

“One day I am going to make you pay for saying that, but now I am taking the chair as a win.” Alex said, while giving Kara the stink eye.

“Good call.” Lena said. “Well, I’ll see you both in the morning.” she said and got up.

“Good night, Lena.” Kara said before Lena left the room. “Sweet dreams.” she added after her.

Lena smiled at Kara, then closed the door behind her.

“Okay, what was that?” Alex asked, she hadn’t seen Kara this goofy in a long time.

“What?” Kara asked while settling on the mattress on the floor. They had found one in the attic, after in was made apperent that Kara couldn’t stay on the armchair forever.

“That with the staring and the ‘sweet dreams’.” Alex said making hand gestures.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kara said with a smile and got under the covers.

“Yeah, I bet.” Alex said and blew out the candle, leaving the room in darkness.


	4. The Dreaming Scientist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I can’t even begin to explain how happy your comments make me. And I want to say thank you to all of you. I wish I could write longer chapters, but right now this is all I’m capable of. But I do believe practice makes everything better. Anyways, enjoy!

“My arms are fine Kara.” Alex groaned. Her wheelchair was currently being pushed on the porch by her little sister, and her attempts at stopping it was futile.

“I just don’t want you to tire yourself too much.” Kara replied calmly. By now, she was used to Alex’s objections. She parked the chair by the railing, and leaned against one of the beams.

“You won’t even let me get on my feet, so don’t try pushing me again.” Alex said, trying to be threatening. Which was near impossible, when she had a small blanket with dancing elephants covering her legs. 

Their conversation stopped when Lena and Sam walked out from the house. They were both donning the pants and shirts with sleeves rolled up combination, ready for the day’s working schedule.

“Are you guys settled?” Lena asked as she straightened her collar.

“Yes we are.” Kara answered, trying not to stare.

“Good, because we have a long day ahead of us.” Sam said. She winked at Alex on the way, and started to walk down the small steps. Lena and Kara followed after her.

The day was keeping up with the week’s sunny and humid weather, but they had a lot to do. After dealing with the small repairs for the last couple of days, it was time for their biggest project yet, the shed.

Ruby walked out to the porch with a book in her hand, and settled on the long swinging chair. She was used to the early mornings at the ranch, that was at least when she had enough sleep.

“Don’t let her get up!” Kara shouted towards the house, while walking backwards.

“God, everyone has an idea what I should do. And yet, no one asks me what I think.” Alex complained, as Ruby gave Kara a thumbs up.

“Really?” Ruby asked to Alex. “Welcome to my life.” she said and lifted her feet on the chair and started swinging. 

“Hey hey, I am not a kid.” Alex countered, waving her index finger.

“Sure doesn’t seem like it.” Ruby answered nonchalantly.

“When did I stop being scary?” Alex muttered to herself and rolled the wheelchair closer to the side. The roof covering the porch, gave them a nice cover from the bright sunlight.

“Here, I have binoculars.” Ruby said and gave the binoculars to Alex. “It’ll help you feel better about having to stay here.” she added and opened her book, she liked reading outside.

“Thanks.” Alex said and started looking around. “This is a really big place.” she commented. Even with half of the land unused, the fence lined a considerably sized ground.

“Yeah, my grandma left it to my mom, then moved to the city. She really didn’t like the country.” Ruby scoffed without leaving her eyes from her book.

“What about your father?” Alex asked, placing the binoculars on her lap. This was a question that was on her mind for the last couple of days.

“Ah, I never knew him.” Ruby said and looked up at Alex. “He left before I was born.”

Alex reached her hand to Ruby, and gave her free hand a soft squeeze. “I am sorry to hear that.” she said. Ruby squeezed her hand back.

“What about Lena?” Alex asked “When did you all move here?”

“Wait. Why are you asking all the questions? Is this an interrogation?” Ruby questioned staring at Alex.

“No, of course not.” Alex said quickly. “This is a conversation. I wanted to get to know my new friend.” she added, indicating Ruby with her hand.

“Okay.” Ruby thought about it. “But I get to ask you too.” she said.

“Sure, go ahead.” Alex replied smiling.

“Hmm... Where are you guys from?” Ruby asked, putting her book on her lap.

“Midvale.” Alex answered. ”It’s less than a week’s ride from here.” she added as an explanation.

“Then what are you doing all the way here?” Ruby asked again, she couldn’t imagine riding for that long.

“We... We were looking for someone.” Alex said slowly, that was the gist of it at least.

“Hmm. Did you find them?” Ruby asked curiously.

“Hey.” Alex countered. “It’s my turn to ask now.”

“Alright, ask away.” Ruby said.

“How did you all start to live here?” Alex asked, making a circular gesture with her hand.

“That’s a really long story.” Ruby said, emphasizing the word ‘really’.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Alex said and patted the side handle of her wheelchair.

“Well then, I’ll give you the short version.” Ruby said. “My mom got ill a couple years back. I sent a letter for Lena, and she came as soon as she got it, to help her. My mom got better, and she didn’t leave after that...” she explained slowly. 

Sensing this was a heavy subject, Alex decided to leave the questions. “What were you reading? Not another horror story please.” she said with a short laugh.

“I can read it to you, if you like.” Ruby offered, suddenly excited.

“Go ahead.” Alex said with an encouraging smile, and Ruby started reading.

~

“What are we actually doing today?” Kara asked while they walked down the slight slope, towards the south end of the ranch.

“We are finally taking down that ugly shed over there.” Lena said pointing to the barely standing building. It had taken a lot of damage in the last storm, but it was still standing.

Kara and Lena were walking side by side on the front, while Sam followed. She would turn back every chance she got and look towards the house. It seemed like Alex was listening, while Ruby talked excitedly. That made her heart feel warm.

“Why do you call it a shed?” Kara asked looking at the large building. “It’s almost as big as the stables.” 

Snapping out of her thoughts, Sam walked up to Kara and answered. “Because Lena hates that building.” she mock whispered, as if it were a secret. 

“I don’t hate it.” Lena said to defend herself. “I just think I could build something there, that would be more useful.”

“Like what?” Kara asked curiously and turned her head to Lena.

“Oh, it’s just a silly thought.” Lena said with a wave of her hand, dismissing the idea.

“I wouldn’t believe that.” Kara said with an encouraging smile.

“Okay.” Lena said and took a deep breath. So far, it was just a thought in her head, and saying it out loud would make it real. And making it too real scared her. But when Kara looked at her like that, she felt like she could do anything. “I want to build a laboratory.” she bursted out. “Fine, a medical practice, and a laboratory.”

Kara and Sam stopped while Lena took a few steps, and turned around when she realized they weren’t following. “Why are we stopping?” Lena asked looking at them.

“You never told me that before.” Sam said slowly. She knew Lena was getting more medical instruments, but she wasn’t expecting this.

“It’s probably not going to happen anyway.” Lena said with a hint of sadness.

“Don’t say that.” Kara countered quickly. Her instinct to protect Lena, even from her own thoughts, was growing with every minute they would spend together. “You know what, I’ll help you build it.” she said “Because it’s a damn good idea.”.

Lena didn’t know how to respond to that. She was planning on helping the people in the town, but dedicating an actual practice for that, was only a dream. So far, that is.

“Hell yeah.” Sam said excitedly. “If I knew that was on your mind to begin with, I would’ve torn that thing down long ago.”

Lena felt her eyes burning. She lifted a finger under her eyes and felt the tears pooling. “You assholes.” she said trying not to cry. “How dare you make me feel things?” she said laughing, tears were starting to fall at the same time.

“Okay this calls for a hug.” Kara said and opened her arms. Lena accepted the offer gladly.

“I kinda feel like I am lurking here.” Sam said after the hug went long, even by her standards.

“Come here.” Lena said laughing and Sam followed.

After they all seperated, “We’re going to build a laboratory.” Kara said excitedly.

“We still need to tear the old thing down.” Sam replied, being the one in the moment.

“We first need to carry everything outside.” Lena said, and they continued towards the shed once again.

~

Sam dropped the old planks next to the stuff they had gathered so far. She turned around to find Lena, who was standing near the empty wheel barrow. She wasn’t working, but staring at one point. Sam followed her line of sight. Kara was walking out of the shed with a pile of wheat sacks in her arms.

Sam slowly walked to stand next to Lena. “Hey!” she said, making Lena jump. She was rewarded with an elbow to the gut. “Okay, okay.” Sam said defensively, putting her hands in front of her. “But you are staring, instead of actually working.”

“I’ll let you know, it’s purely for scientific purposes.” Lena said straightening her posture, and turned to Sam.

“Of course, what else would it be?” Sam said, joking. In the mean time, Kara was still piling up the sacks.

“Fine, just stop it with that smirk. I saw the looks you and Alex were giving this morning.” Lena said rolling her eyes. “But there is a scientific component.” she added and turned to Sam.

“See that wheat sack?” Lena asked, indicating with her head.

“Yeah.” Sam nodded. “What about it?”

“That thing weights at least a hundred pounds.” Lena said. “And she just started carrying three at a time, with out the wheel barrow.” she surreptitiously gestured towards where Kara was working.

“And she is not even breaking a sweat.” Sam commented, Kara was actually smiling while murmuring a tune to herself.

“As glad as I am to watch it...” Lena said, looking at Kara one more time. “I think she is like you.” she whispered seriously.

“Just because she is strong, doesn’t mean she is like me.” Sam said, but she was starting to get suspicious.

“Actually...” Lena said and dragged Sam by the arm, putting more distance between them and Kara. “James mentioned something the other day.” she said. Sam looked at her curiously. “The two people that stopped the bank robbery...” she whispered.

“Yes Lena, I read the same article as you.” Sam whispered back impatiently.

“Well, he says, actually he heard some people say, one of them had fire coming out of their eyes.” Lena whispered back, looking directly at Sam.

“That... but..” Sam didn’t know what to say. “It could just be a rumor.” she offered weakly.

“They used to say the same thing about you, and it wasn’t a rumor back then.” Lena said. “It’s too much of a coincidence.”

“Then why are we keeping this charade and acting like we don’t know anything?” Sam asked. “Let’s just go and tell them we know.” She took a step towards Kara, but Lena stopped her with hand on her arm. Sam turned to look at her.

“Because right now, they don’t know that we know.” Lena said. “We can use that to our advantage.”

“Come on Lena.” Sam groaned. “They are obviously good people.” Her mind went to Alex. “Why do we need an advantage?”

“Fine, you are right.” Lena said. “But let’s get to know them for another week.” Sam was still not convinced. “And you know my way is a lot more fun right?” Lena said with a smile.

“Fine.” Sam gave in. She was at least curious to see where this could go. 

~ 

Alex started looking around again, using the binoculars. After reading, and Ruby adding her own anecdotes to most paragraphs, she had went inside to prepare some tea. And Alex was left alone on the porch. She turned towards the shed, to see how far the others have gone. She found Kara walking out of the shed.

“What does she think she is doing?” Alex muttered to herself. “Does she not know how heavy those things are? And those straws are just gonna get everywhere.” she said while watching Kara work. 

She couldn’t believe Kara would be that reckless with her powers. Actually, when she thought about it, she would believe it. Her sister was not the best liar when it came down to it. She was just surprised the world didn’t know about her, not yet at least.

She left Kara, and turned the binoculars to where Lena and Sam were standing. They seemed to be watching Kara work. She knew Lena was too smart not to notice that Kara was currently carrying something more than double her weight.

She saw Sam and Lena going back to work, and without realizing, she started following Sam. Sam was walking towards an ax, and then she started chopping down wood. Alex felt hypnotized by every swing, every breath, every flick of the hand...

“What are you staring at?” Ruby asked, standing by the door with two mugs.

Alex quickly dropped the binoculars to her lap and averted her eyes. “Nothing.” she lied. “What are you staring at?” she countered.

Ruby looked towards where Alex was looking at before. She couldn’t exactly make it, but it was near the shed. “Okay.” she said drawing out the word, and dropped the subject. She gave one of the mugs to Alex and settled back on her swinging chair.

~

“Okay, there is nothing else left inside.” Kara said and dropped the last bale next to the others. She wiped the front of her shirt to dust off any straws.

Lena tried and failed to not look, when Kara’s hands wiped away the last straws on her chest. “Yes.” she said and quickly looked up.

“Any plans on how we get the building down?” Sam asked staring at the building. 

“We attach the horses to the supporting beams, and ‘bam’.” Lena said, it sounded easy enough.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Kara said. She was particularly happy today. Alex was no longer in danger and she was helping a brilliant but also gorgeous woman, build her dream. Happy didn’t come close to covering her mood.

Lena’s plan went without a hitch. Well, almost without a hitch. They had attached five horses using a rope, and stepped back to avoid getting hit by the rubble. The horses were having a hard time pulling all the weight, so Kara stealthly helped them, by slightly pulling on the rope. Then the shed was leveled to the ground, lifting up a large cloud of dust with it.

“Wow.” Lena said between coughs. “I didn’t actually think that would work.” 

“I’m not gonna lie, me neither.” Sam said. Kara was standing behind, and trying to not get any attention.

“Well, it did.” Kara said, not letting them dwell on the ‘how’. “I think this should be enough for today. What do you think boss?” she asked.

“Yeah. I think we deserved ourselves a nice dinner.” Sam replied, wiping away the dust on her pants.

“I agree. Let’s clean this stuff up and call it a day.” Lena added, and they started loading the stuff on to a wagon.

~ 

“Alex, what are you doing out here?” Sam asked while tightening the cardigan around herself. It was almost midnight, and Alex was sitting on the porch. She turned towards Sam.

“I missed the night air.” Alex said taking a deep breath. “There is nothing quite like it.”

Sam wanted to say it was also really cold, but she found herself saying something else. “Well, mind if I join you?” she asked and indicated the chair next to Alex’s wheelchair.

“Not at all.” Alex answered with a smile.

Sam smiled back, and settled on the chair. “Wow.” she said looking at the night sky. “I didn’t know there was a full moon tonight.”

“Don’t worry. If any werewolves try to attack us, I’ll protect you.” Alex whispered in mock seriousness.

“I appreciate it.” Sam said turning her head to Alex. “But I do believe there are more dangerous things out there, than fictional monsters.”

“That, we agree on.” Alex said slowly. ”Nice work today.” she said after a quiet moment. “You guys were working really hard.”

“Oh, were you watching us?” Sam asked jokingly.

“No. I wasn’t watching.” Alex quickly countered, but Sam laughed at that. “Fine, I was.” she admitted.

“You and Ruby seemed to be having fun today.” Sam said, letting Alex off the hook.

“Oh, were you watching us?” Alex asked this time, causing them both to laugh. “And we were.” she said. “She is a really smart kid.”

“She is.” Sam said with a smile. “Sometimes she says things I can’t even understand. I blame Lena for that.”

Alex smiled at that. “And I heard Lena came here to help you guys.” she said. “That’s one good cousin.” she laughed.

“Actually, Lena is not my cousin.” Sam said. Alex turned to look at her, she was curious. “It’s easier than saying ‘long time family friend that is helping me raise my child.’ And the town people were starting to get an idea why two women were living alone in a ranch.”

”Oh. I didn’t know you two were...” Alex said, she was suddenly embarrassed at how she had acted around Sam lately.

Sam realized what Alex was thinking, and reached for Alex’s hand, softly holding it. “In reality, they were right. But not about us.” she said looking at Alex. “We were never like that.” Alex was looking confused. “With each other.” Sam felt the need to clarify further.

“Oh...” Alex said, slowly understanding Sam’s words. She squezed Sam’s hand back. “I guess that is good news. Or otherwise I have been making an ass of myself lately.” she nervously chuckled to herself.

“You are actually quite charming.” Sam said with a smile, and took her hand back to her lap. Alex suddenly missed its warmth. “Come on, let’s get you inside.” Sam said and stood up.

She stepped towards Alex’s chair. “Yeah, let’s get inside. My toes are starting to go numb.” Alex said. Sam slowly rolled them inside, trying not to make any noise. She opened the door to Ruby’s room, now dubbed as the Danvers sisters’ room, and stopped Alex’s chair by the bed.

“Let me help you.” Sam whispered before Alex tried to get up. Kara was already asleep on the matress on the floor. She crouched near Alex, and Alex put an arm around her shoulders. “One, two, three.” she whispered and helped Alex to the bed.

“Well, good night Alex.” Sam said, and before Alex could say anything, she left with a small kiss on her cheek. Alex could only look after her as she closed the door.

“Good night.” Alex whispered to herself. She went to sleep with a smile on her face.


	5. The Uneventful Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to jump forward to two weeks after the first chapter. Feel free to fill any gaps with Danvarias being cute and flirty, while Supercorp is riding around with longing stares. :)

Lena looked around in the pantry. She wanted to find the can of bait, and catch some fish before others woke up. They had a creek in a relatively short distance from the ranch, and the earlier she got there would be better.

She crouched down to take a look at the lower shelves, and reached her hand towards the back. She grasped the small can and pulled it to herself, looking at the label. “Gotcha.” she said to herself. She heard footsteps coming towards the pantry, and stood up.

“Isn’t this too early to raid the pantry?” Kara asked scrubbing her right eye with a fist. “Way too early actually.” she said after checking the big clock on the main room, and leaned on the doorframe.

“It is.” Lena answered. “But I’m going fishing, and this is the best time for it.” she showed Kara the can of fish bait in her hand.

“Oh.” Kara looked at the label. “Can I come with you?” she asked excitedly. “I have never gone fishing before.”

“Well, then it’s about time you tried.” Lena said with a smile. Teaching Kara how to do something she didn’t know, intrigued her. “Still...” Lena said looking at Kara’s sleeping attire, meaning her light brown long johns. ”You might want to change that outfit.”

Kara looked down at her clothes. “Yeah.” she chuckled to herself. “I’ll get ready and meet you outside.” she said.

“Okay.” Lena said and started walking towards the door. “I’ll get the horses ready.” she added, and left the room, slightly brushing Kara’s arm with her fingers, on the way. Kara turned to watch Lena go, while leaning her head back to the door frame.

It had been almost two weeks since storm. And even though she and Alex were in completely unfamiliar territory, she felt like they were home. Her mind told her two weeks was too short to know that, but she couldn’t help but feel like she belonged here.

Even Alex seemed happy. Her objections had finally resulted with a new cane, instead of the wheelchair, and by now she was allowed to do short exercises with one of them. That person was usually, meaning most exclusively, was Sam.

And Kara loved seeing her sister this happy. She hoped that, maybe it would mean they could forget about getting revenge. Maybe they could just let the past go, and stay right here.

Of course there was another reason why she wanted to stay, and let the rest of the world go. That reason was a raven haired, gorgeous green eyed, and the most brilliant woman she had ever met. In the past to weeks, whenever she saw Lena working to build the laboratory, or working on the ranch, or even work in the house, she would be surprised.

On Krypton, she was used to the advanced technology. Everything she could imagine would be at her fingertips. Their worlds were so different that when her ship first landed on Earth, she felt the full toll of being on a different planet. Because on Earth, everything she ever took for granted, was waiting to be discovered.

That is why Lena surprised her. Because, even with every disadvantage she had, she still pushed back. She questioned everything, and read every book she could find. She looked for every crumb of knowledge, wherever it was. And Kara loved watching that, because Lena was so far ahead of her time. Yet she wouldn’t let the limitations of her time stop her.

Kara quickly got ready to meet Lena. Finding a nice balance with looking good and practical, she put on her dark brown riding pants and bright white shirt. She completed the look with her dark red vest, and secured all three buttons. After finishing arranging her belt, she put on her hat and opened the door to the porch.

Lena was almost finished securing the saddle on her shining black horse with a white mark on its forehead. She heard the front door opening, and instinctively looked up. After seeing Kara, her words failed her.

“You... You look...” Lena tried to say, while cursing herself on the inside. “You look very handsome.” she said finally.

“Oh, thank you.” Kara replied with a smile. She congragulated herself, spending more time with her clothes had appearently worked. She looked at Lena, who was wearing black riding pants with a black shirt. She couldn’t help but stare at the neckline, Lena was taking full advantage of the weather, by forgoing more buttons from the top.

“You... You also look...” Kara said trying to pry her eyes away. “Very beautiful.” she said, finally looking at Lena's face.

Lena gave herself a mental high five. Her shirt also had the desired effect. She had to stop herself from laughing at how ridiculous they were. It was obvious that Kara was thinking the same thing as her. But it was also obvious that Kara was the more clueless sister, therefore needed more work. But Lena liked that.

“We should go.” Lena said and finished securing her saddle.

“You’re right.” Kara recovered and followed suit, by securing her own horse.

After finishing with the saddles, Lena unhitched her horse and climbed on it with ease. “There is a nice fishing spot, half an hour east of here.” she said, waving one hand in the general direction.

“Sounds good.” Kara replied after getting on her own horse. “I’ll follow you.” she said.

“Do that.” Lena said. “I don’t want you to get lost.” she winked and pushed her horse forward.

Kara smiled to herself and shook her head. She followed after Lena and tried to catch up to her. “Hey!” she shouted. “I don’t get lost.”

“I’ll take that as a challenge!” Lena shouted back. She speed up in the distance, leaving a cloud of dust behind her. The sun was only just begining to show its face, which made it easy to ride faster.

“Darn it!” Kara muttered to herself and pushed forward.

~

“Good to know that you can track.” Lena said while placing a small bucket on the ground.

Kara stopped her horse and jumped down. “Yeah... I tracked you.” she said hitching her horse next to Lena’s. “That makes more sense than listened to you.” she muttered to herself.

“What is that?” Lena said, not understanding Kara’s last words.

“I said I’ll get the fishing rods.” Kara said raising her voice. She found the fishing rods placed in her saddles and walked up to Lena, holding one of them out for her.

“So, how do we start?” Kara asked curiously. She had never actually gone fishing before. Her usual style was just using her speed and catching one with bare hands. And that didn’t work, because they would find a way to squirm away from her grip.

“Now we put some bait on the hook.” Lena answered. She showed Kara the can again. “Be careful. This has a strong smell.” she warned before opening the can. And sure enough, the smell was there.

“That smells foul.” Kara said, trying to protect her nose with her elbow.

“Well, it means it’s powerful.” Lena said as an explanation. It did smell bad, but by now she was used to it.

Lena showed Kara how to pick up the bait, and place it securely on the hook. Kara followed her with attention, and repeated the movements after her. After they were ready, Lena moved closer to the water and Kara followed right behind her.

“And now...” Lena said. ”We just swing.” Kara had to hold herself back from throwing it too far, not that she was sure about how far was considered too far, but she tried. Lena smiled at seeing her struggle, but she didn’t say anything.

“That was good.” she said and placed her rod on the ground. “But let me show you.” she moved closer to Kara and stood right behind her. “Reel it back in.” she said, her voice verging on a whisper.

Kara didn’t dare turn her head back, she just followed Lena’s instructions. “Now what?” she asked gulping.

Lena ghosted her right hand on the arm Kara was holding the rod. “You need to use your elbows more.” she said touching Kara’s elbow. “Gain some momentum there, then swing.” she stepped back after squeezing Kara’s biceps. “I know you’ve got more power than that.” she whispered on the way.

In stead of responding, Kara just reacted in the moment. With another flick of the elbow, she swung her rod once again. This time, her line ended up a lot further than it was before. She heard Lena clapping and turned her head.

“Now that was really good.” Lena said with a laugh. She returned to her rod and swung it forward with the ease of practice.

“How will I know if anthing has caught on?” Kara asked turning her head to Lena.

“You’ll feel the pull on the line.” Lena answered. “But don’t reel it in too fast, wait for it to fully latch on.” she added.

“Like right now?” Kara asked, her rod was being pulled forward.

Lena turned to look at her. “Exactly like right now.” she answered. “Quick, reel it in.” she said excitedly.

Kara started reeling the line, she could feel the fish fighting to get away. Then the line reached the shore, with a largemouth bass on the hook. “I did it!” Kara exclaimed excitedly. “I did it!”

“Exactly. See, it was easy.” Lena said with a smile.

“I have a good teacher.” Kara answered, pulling the fish off the hook.

~

Alex woke up, as the sun started to shine a line through the window. She leaned forward on the bed and dropped her legs to the side. After two weeks of resting, she was finally able to move with the least amount of pain.

She stood up with support on the bedpost and slowly stepped towards the washing bowl. And even with the least amount of pain, she was still favoring her left side. After washing her face, she felt more awake and looked towards Kara’s bed on the floor.

Kara was not in it, and the covers were left half opened. ‘She must have already woken up.’ Alex thought to herself. 

If there was one thing she didn’t like about getting shot, other than the bullet holes and the pain, it was to not be able to wake up as early as she used to. Because healing took energy, and that meant more resting. And she really wanted that part to be over. She was a gunslinger after all, and a sleeping one wouldn’t be doing well in that business.

She slowly walked towards the wardrobe, to get rid of her sleeping attire. Kara had insisted that she wore a night gown, instead of her long johns. And as much as she liked how physically comfortable it was, she felt more comfortable in her riding clothes.

Wearing pants was still not easy with her wounds, but she managed after couple of well thought out maneuvers. She finished her look with a light blue shirt and a black vest. After finding the cane Kara had made for her, she opened the door and started walking towards the kitchen.

She wanted to get breakfast going for the others, but the sounds coming from the kitchen indicated that someone had beat her to it. She walked with support from her new cane, and knocked on the kitchen door frame.

Sam was pouring flour to a bowl, to make fresh bread for breakfast. She turned towards the sound and smiled at Alex, who was standing by the door. “Good morning.” she said.

“Good morning to you too.” Alex said, stepping closer to the small kitchen table where Sam was working. “I see you are already here.” she settled on the chair closest to her and placed her cane by the wall. “Do you know where Kara is?” she asked.

“Oh, she and Lena are already gone.” Sam said and gestured to the small piece of paper on the table. Alex reached for the paper and looked it over. “Apparently, they went fishing.” Sam said, she walked to the kitchen counter and returned with a glass of water, placing it on the table.

“There is a nice spot, not far from here. They’ll be back soon.” Sam was saying while Alex reached for the glass of water, taking a sip. Sam stared at her in mock shock, and flicked a piece of flour to Alex’s face.

“What was that for?!” Alex asked, wiping the flour away from her face, with a hand.

“That glass was for the bread.” Sam replied, flicking more flour at Alex.

“There is no need for this.” Alex said, trying to wave away Sam’s attacks.

“You’re right. There isn’t.” Sam said, calming down and smiling. Alex took that opening and flicked flour at Sam’s unsuspecting face.

Sam blew the flour away from her nose. “I deserved that.” she laughed at herself, causing Alex to laugh too.

“Hey mom, do you know where...” Ruby walked into the kitchen asking. She looked between the two of them, who both had flour on their faces, while trying to look as innocent as possible. 

“You know what...” Ruby said with a smile. “I’ll go feed the chickens.” She turned around and quickly walked out of the house.

“That was weird right?” Alex asked turning back to Sam.

“Yeah.” Sam laughed to herself. “She thinks we should spend more time together, just the two of us.” she said. “Apparently there is something going on between us.”

“Oh.” Alex said, drawing out the word. “But there is something going on right?” she asked leaning on the table towards Sam, even though she was pretty sure about the answer by now.

Sam rolled her eyes at that. “Yes, Alex there is.” she said looking at Alex. “And if you ask me that again, I’m going to empty this flour bag on your head.” she threatened, but it was mostly with a smile. She backed her threat with one last flick.

~

Alex leaned on the railing on the porch and looked around the ranch. Near the south end, where the so called shed used to be, was a pile of freshly cut building planks, and the base was ready to be set.

She turned towards the small fenced area, where Ruby was tending to the small animals they had. It looked more like she was chasing them, and playing with them, but she looked happy.

“One black coffee.” Sam said and walked to stand next to Alex, holding the cup out for her. Alex took it gladly, and held it near her nose to revel in its smell. “Thank you.” she said.

Their arms were almost touching, and they were content to just stay in that moment, quietly watching the day.

Alex took a sip of her coffee. “God, that is strong.” she commented.

“Oh, you don’t like it?” Sam asked. Kara was the one that usually prepared Alex’s coffee at breakfast. And now she was worried to have gotten that wrong.

“No, no.” Alex answered quickly. “It’s actually, exactly as how I like it.” she said smiling at Sam.

“Good.” Sam said smiling back, and took a sip of her own cup.

“So, now that we have the aforementioned ‘alone time’...” Alex said slowly. “What should we do?”

“I have something I have been thinking about.” Sam said placing her cup on the railing. She straightened and turned to Alex.

“Really, what is it?” Alex asked placing her own cup next to Sam’s, and turned to her.

“This.” Sam answered quietly. And before Alex could say anything, she was silenced by Sam’s lips on her own. Sam cupped Alex’s face with her right hand, while Alex pulled her closer with a hand on her back. Pulling Sam closer resulted with Alex having to step back, and now her back was supported by a beam.

Two weeks of playfully flirting and laughing together, all exploded in what started as a peck on the lips, that was now leaving them breathless. Sam stepped back, stopping the kiss.

“I am sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” she said, she was only intending on a small kiss.

“I am not.” Alex said and pulled her back in, holding her by the lapels. But this time, their kiss couldn’t go on as long, because Sam stepped back again. Alex looked at her curiously.

“I would very much like to continue this.” Sam said, the thought made her bite her bottom lip. “But your sister is coming.” she gestured towards the ranch gates with her head.

“I don’t hear anything.” Alex said looking towards the gate. But sure enough, two riders were coming towards the ranch. “Good ears.” she commented with a smile.

After a couple minutes, Lena passed the gates, followed closely by Kara. “I almost caught you this time.” Kara said as they stopped the horses by the house.

“‘Almost’ being the imperative word.” Lena said with a smile and jumped down from her horse. “‘Morning, you two.” she said after seeing Alex and Sam standing on the porch.

“Yeah, good morning indeed.” Alex replied. “Were you able to catch anything?” she asked.

“Actually, Kara did most of the catching.” Lena answered as Kara jumped down from her horse. Alex turned to Kara in surprise. “What?” Kara asked after seeing Alex’s face. “I can learn things.”

“Not when I tried to teach you.” Alex said with a knowing smile. “Last time when I showed you a rod, the hook ended up in my hair.” Sam laughed at that. “Good thing I had long hair back then.” Alex turned at said to Sam, which caused her to laugh even more.

Lena stared at them for a moment. The way they acted, some thing was obviously different. She turned to Kara, to see if she had come to the same conclusion. And she saw the change in Kara, as the idea dawned on her. Kara turned her head towards Lena, and it was apparent she wanted the same closeness, she just wasn’t sure how to initiate it.

A horse loudly riding towards the ranch pulled them all back to the real world and they all turned towards the sound.

“Is that...” Lena said, squinting her eyes.

“Lucy.” Sam completed for her.


	6. The Rider with Trouble

“Lena.” Lucy said, jumping off her horse. “Thank god I found you here.” she walked towards Lena, and they greeted with a short hug.

“Lucy.” Sam said, stepping down the porch steps. Lucy hugged her briefly too. “Are you alright?” Sam asked stepping back after the hug, and looking her over.

Lucy seemed tired, to say the least. Her clothes were raffled, and so was her hair. Her horse didn’t look any better than her, the poor animal was drenched with sweat.

“Now, that’s not a good way to greet someone, is it?” Lucy said, combing a hand through her hair. She looked around and noticed Alex and Kara looking at her curiously. “I see you have visitors.” she said.

“I’m Kara.” Kara introduced herself with a hand shake.

“Alex.” Alex said, waving from the porch. She was leaning on a beam with a shoulder, mostly for support.

“Let’s get something to eat. Then, we will talk about why you look so terrible.” Lena said and dragged Lucy by the hand. Kara stared after them, she could feel the sudden jealousy rising up inside.

“Come on girl.” Sam said, holding the reins of Lucy’s horse. “Let’s get you cooled down.” she turned her head and smiled at Alex, while the others were getting inside. Then she headed of to the stables, with Lucy’s horse in tow. 

~

”Thank you.” Lucy said with a smile, after Ruby handed her a cup of coffee. 

They were settled around the dinner table, with Lucy sitting next to Lena. Sam was on the other side of Lucy, next to Alex. After quickly setting breakfast, they were waiting to hear what made Lucy ride their way.

“So, who are you guys?” Lucy asked after taking a sip of her coffee.

“We’re helping around in the ranch.” Alex said. Even though Sam and Lena seemed to know this woman, she didn’t want to give more information than that.

“Hmmm.” Lucy didn’t quite believe that, because she had already noticed the limp this Alex person was trying to hide.

“Here, have some of this.” Sam said, holding a plate with scrambled eggs.

“Thanks Sam.” Lucy reached for the eggs. She had been riding for most of the night, and didn’t have anything to eat. She started to eat with an appetite almost rivaling that of Kara’s.

“I’m so hungry.” the words came unintelligibly between bites, but they understood the meaning.

“Please, try to chew at least.” Lena said watching Lucy eat. She reached for her own cup.

“Sorry. Just, I have been riding all night to get here, you know.” Lucy said after she finished her plate.

“Is everything alright?” Sam asked with concern.

“I am afraid they are not.” Lucy answered, and left her fork on her plate. “I need you help, Lena.” she said turning her face to Lena.

“Me?” Lena asked. “Why do you need my help?” Kara was wondering the same thing.

“Something is happening in the reservation. People are getting sick. I have never seen anything like it.” Lucy said, she was a lot more serious now that the adrenalin from the ride was wearing off.

“Don’t you guys have a healer back there?” Kara asked, her nervousness was mixed with curiosity.

“Our head healer died yesterday.” Lucy replied, looking at Kara in the eyes. “That’s why I am here.” she turned back to Lena. “You are the only one I know, that can help us.”

Lena realized what the question was. Lucy was asking her to go back to the reservation with her. It was dangerous territory, and they weren’t all so kind when it came to outsiders interfering with their business.

Lucy saw that Lena was struggling to make a decision. She reached a hand to Lena’s, holding it. It didn’t go unnoticed by Kara, but she held back. It wasn’t like she had any claim on Lena, but now she was cursing herself for not saying anthing to her before.

Lena turned her head to Lucy. “If we don’t help the reservation, they are going to become weak and vulnerable.” Lucy said slowly. “When that happens, my father won’t hesitate to attack them.”

“And who is that father?” Alex said. “Why should be worry about him?” she added, after taking a sip of her coffee.

“His name is Samuel Lane.” Lucy answered looking at Alex. “You might know him as General Lane.” she added to clarify.

“What?” Alex asked. She was surprised, to say the least. Samuel Lane was one of the most brutal commanders in the United States army, and he acted as if the war was still going on. He commanded a large army, and because of that most of his actions were overlooked, with the government afraid of insurgence.

“I apologize for saying this, but he is not a very nice person.” Kara said, feeling bad for even saying that. But she knew the name, like most people.

Lucy chuckled mirthlessly at that. “You are too kind.” she said to Kara. “He is a butcher. And is the reservation becomes too sick to fight, he will butcher them too.” she finished with a grim voice.

“If your father is General Lane, then why are you even helping the reservation?” Alex asked this time. “More importantly, how are they letting you?” she was in full interrogation mode.

Sam felt the need to soothe Alex’s worries, and also save Lucy from her questions. “Because that’s her home now.” she said turning to Alex. “It has been for a while.” she added.

“Yeah.” Lucy said. “Look, I’m going to explain it to you once, because you are definitely not just a rancher.” she was staring at Alex, “And Lena wouldn’t let anyone here that she doesn’t trust.” she said. “My father disowned me a long time ago, because I warned the Indian village he was about to attack and he lost a lot of men because of it. But I found my home, with people who care about me, who helped me.” she turned again to Lena. “Now I need your help to save them.”

“I’ll come with you.” Lena said, she had made up her mind, even though how dangerous the situation was. With the spreading sickness and the looming threat of the army, there was enough cause to just say no. But she couldn’t do that, she owed it to herself and Lucy to at least try to help.

“That’s great news.” Lucy said, finally smiling again. “But we have to ride as soon as possible.” she added.

“I’ll go get ready.” Lena said and got up from the breakfast. She started walking to her room, but with one last look towards the table, towards Kara, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression on her face. She went to her room and closed the door behind herself.

“Well, that was decided quick.” Alex said, her cup was cold by now, but she went for another sip anyway.

“Yeah.” Kara said, almost too low to hear. Alex turned to look at Her sister was obviously struggling with Lena’s decision. She turned her head to Sam, who instinctively knew what to do.

“Lucy.” Sam said getting up from her chair. Lucy turned to look at her. “Let’s go see if your horse if rested enough.” Sam said, which Lucy found odd, but seeing how quiet the other women were, she complied. “Ruby, you tag along too.”

The three of them left the house, leaving Kara and Alex at the table. “Kara.” Alex said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why?” Kara answered, she was avoiding eye contact with Alex by focusing on her hands on the table.

“Oh, don’t bullshit me with saying nothing.” Alex said. “I’m your sister. Just tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll find a way to help you.”

“Fine.” Kara replied, looking up at Alex. “It’s dangerous. I don’t think she should go, at least alone.”

“She is not alone. I’m sure she and Lucy can handle themselves.” Alex said slowly, and reached for Kara’s hands, holding them with her own. “But if you don’t think so, then go with her.” she said looking at Kara in the eyes.

“What?” Kara said. “I... I can’t go and leave you here.” Alex raised and eyebrow at that. “She didn’t even ask me to go with her.” she said slowly.

‘Because you are both idiots.’ Alex thought to herself, but rephrased it for Kara. “I believe she would be more than happy if you tagged along. Just go and ask her.” she said, trying to sound as encouraging as possible.

“Really?” Kara asked, unsure. “But how about you?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Alex said. “Now go.”

~

“Come in.” Lena shouted out while stuffing a spare shirt in her travel bag. Kara walked in, closing the door behind her. “Kara.” Lena said turning her head towards the door.

“I am...” Lena said at the same time Kara said “Can I...”. She smiled at that. “You go...” Lena said, while Kara finished with “First.”. When they both said “Okay...” at the same time, Kara walked over to Lena and silenced her with an index finger on her lips.

“I want to go with you.” Kara said looking at Lena, which made her smile. “I was about to ask if you would like to come with me.” Lena said.

“Oh. Then it’s settled.” Kara said, her nervousness was suddenly gone. “I should go get ready.” she remembered and started stepping back towards the door. On the way she stumbled against a bedpost, and a side table, but that only made Lena smile more.

~

“What do you think is happening inside?” Lucy asked looking towards the house. They were waiting in front of the stables, with Ruby already gone towards the coop.

“No idea.” Sam replied, leaning back against the stable wall.

“How do you have no idea?” Lucy asked. “Can’t you just hear them?”

“I try not to disrespect people’s privacy.” Sam said and smiled at Lucy’s curiosity.

“Why do you have to be so noble?” Lucy asked, to which Sam only shrugged.

“What’s with the redhead?” Lucy asked after a moment, turning her face to Sam.

“She has a name, you know.” Sam replied, readjusting her belt.

“Yeah, yeah. Alex the rancher.” Lucy said, waving the words away. “Though, I wouldn’t guess that with the limp.” she added, making it apparent again that she didn’t believe that story.

Sam scoffed loudly at that. “She was shot. And she probably didn’t want to tell you because, apparently no one around here can trust someone they don’t know.” she said. “Now why could that be?” she asked with mock curiosity.

“I can understand that.” Lucy said, accepting the explanation. “What about the other one?” she asked. “She kept staring at me like she was about to fight me or something.”

“If you mean Kara...” Sam said, she had a knowing smile now. “That would probably be because of Lena.”

Lucy looked at her with a surprised expression. “What do you mean?” she asked, but it dawned on her before Sam could answer. “Ohhh.”

“Yeah.” Sam said nodding.

“Wow, this place has surely changed.” Lucy said with a laugh, resulting with Sam punching her lightly in the arm.

~

Alex started to walk towards the porch, trying to hide her limp as mush as possible. After a couple of steps, she decided to give up the guise and reached for her cane. It wasn’t that important to hide, considering she wasn’t doing a good job at hiding it to begin with.

A door behind her opened, and Kara walked out with a large smile. “I’m guessing she said yes?” Alex said turning to her. 

“Yes!” Kara answered excitedly. “I’ll go get ready.” she dissappered in an instant and returned with a small bag in her hand.

“Kara!” Alex said, overtly disapproving of Kara’s use of powers.

“Sorry.” Kara said, but she was still smiling.

~

“Oh you are coming too?” Lucy asked. “Of course.” she muttered to herself, which didn’t go unnoticed by Alex.

“I wanted to be of help, as much as I can.” Kara said. “I hope that’s not a problem.” she added.

“No, of course not.” Lucy replied. “Just stick close to me when we reach the village.” she said and finished loading her saddlebag.

“Sure.” Kara replied and started securing the saddlebags on her horse.

After they were finished with the horses, Lucy hugged Sam goodby. “Thanks for breakfast, Arias.” she said than she shook Alex’s hand, who was watching them get ready. “Something tells me we’ll see each other again, rancher.” Lucy said while they shook hands.

“Let’s hope it goes better next time.” Alex replied. Lucy smiled at that, and walked back to her horse. “I’ll go say goodby to Ruby.” she said and jumped on her horse, surprisingly easy for someone of her size. “And don’t worry, I’ll try to bring these two back to you as soon as possible.” with that she trotted the horse towards where Ruby was.

“You’ll be okay right?” Lena asked after hugging Sam. “Remember, James will be back in a couple days, and we need more planks for the lab.” she said.

“I know Lena.” Sam said. “This is the third time you are reminding me.” she added. “And you be careful, okay? I know you medicine people like to say ‘First do no harm.’ but, you change that to ‘Protect yourself first’.” she said. Lena laughed at that, and pulled Sam in for another hug.

Lena turned to Alex, who had already finished with her goodbyes with Kara. “Alex.” she said and pulled Alex to a hug, which startled her at first but she quickly recovered, hugging her back.

“I trust you to not over exert yourself.” Lena said stepping back.

“You know me doc.” Alex replied with a mock seriousness.

“Then, let’s hope Sam has more sense than you.” Lena said with a knowing smile, causing Alex to go red in the ears.

“Don’t listen to them.” Sam said chuckling and pulled Kara in for a hug. She didn’t let go, and whispered in Kara’s ear in a voice only they could hear. “If things go wrong, I know you can protect her.” When Sam stepped back Kara was surprised to say the least, but she only nodded.

“Well then let’s go before Lucy gets restless.” Lena said and jumped on her horse, followed by Kara. Kara tipped her hat to them one last time, then they trotted to where Ruby and Lucy was talking.

Alex slowly walked toward where Sam was standing, and reached out her hand. Sam took it gladly, and softly leaned her head on Alex’s shoulder. They watched as Lena and Kara said goodby to Ruby, and then rode away following Lucy.

“Are you worried?” Sam asked.

”I’m only worried about Lucy.” Alex answered causing Sam to lift her head up and look at her curiously. “I have no idea how she is going to handle both of them at the same time.” she said, causing them to laugh together. When they quieted down, Alex decided to give her real answer. “Actually, I wouldn’t send Kara alone, if I didn’t think she could handle herself.”

“Really?” Sam asked staring at Alex. “What, did you think riding with them was an option?” she asked incredulously.

“Oh please.” Alex answered. “If I even mentioned it, I would be tied to a chair right now.”

“It’s good that you realize that was the most possible outcome.” Sam said leaning closer to Alex.

“But I would like my guns back.” Alex said, realizing Sam was closer now. “I need to practice again.” she said, trying not to look down at Sam’s lips.

“That could be arrenged.” Sam replied, pulling Alex in for a soft kiss, only to step back again with a smile. “I’ll go find your saddlebag.” she said and left towards the stables, leaving Alex in front of the house, suddenly feeling lightheaded.

Alex shook her head, looking after Sam. She would very much like to deny the effect Sam had on her, but it wasn’t possible. Not when Sam kept catching her off guard like that.

~

After Sam brought her the saddlebag, she reached for her gunbelt containing two Smith&Wesson’s. “My babies.” she murmured to herself, tracing the silver outline of one of the guns. They were left unattented for two weeks, and now they were in need of a through cleaning.

Using the small side table in the main room as a station, she carefully took apart each gun and cleaned their chambers. It was after dark now, and the sounds coming from the dying fire was keeping her company. She finished cleaning, and tested her aim with each gun.

But aiming wouldn’t be enough. She needed to shoot again, to see how much she had lost with all this resting. What she really needed was to fast track her healing, but that wasn’t an option. So for now, she would have to do with what she had. To practice, and get ready, for whatever the world had to throw at them.


	7. The Towns to Save

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I’m sorry it’s been a while since the last update, but i usually write during my lighter rotations. So thank you for your patience. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter.

The sounds of something scraping against the wooden floors, caused Alex to wake up from her sleep. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was definitely coming from the attic.

She slowly rose from the bed and got ready for the day. And today, her usual attire was completed with her gun belt. With Kara and Lena gone yesterday, it only made sense.

She opened the door to the main room, to find Sam sipping coffee at the couch. “Where is that noise coming from?” Alex asked walking towards the couch.

Sam watched her with a smile as she sat down next to her. “It’s Ruby.” she said. “She is claiming the attic as her new room.” she explained.

“And that couldn’t wait until breakfast, because?..” Alex asked leaning her head on the couch.

“No idea.” Sam said, shaking her head. Alex gestured to Sam’s cup with her head, and Sam held the cup for Alex.

“I’ll go check it out.” Alex said after taking a sip of Sam’s coffee. Then she stood up from the couch.

“Okay.” Sam said, getting up herself. “Breakfast is in twenty minutes.” she shouted after her, as Alex walked towards the hallway next to Lena’s room.

There was a small stairway curving in on itself at the end of the hallway. Alex slowly climbed the stairs with a firm hand on the railing. She found Ruby dragging a box towards the stairs.

“Anything I can help you with?” Alex asked when she stepped in to the attic. 

“I don’t know.” Ruby said, stopping the box by the stairs, next to Alex. “Do you think I can fit my room here?” she asked indicating the attic. It was almost as big as the main room, but it was filled with old unused items. And it needed a through clean up.

Alex looked around the room. The roof wasn’t entirely curved, which gave it a lot more options for what to do. “Sure.” she said, walking towards the middle of the room. “Let’s clear out this stuff and really see what we are dealing with.”

Alex helped with as much as possible. She couldn’t fully lean forward, so she find a solution by dragging the boxes with her feet. They were almost finished with piling everything by the stairway to easily carry down later, when Sam called out from down stairs. “You both better be down here in two minutes!”

~

Kara patted her horse on the neck. They were riding for hours through various canyons, and to her, every rock formation looked the same. It was all very beautiful, but still, she wasn’t sure she would be able to find the village they were going to, if she was alone.

They were now slowly trotting, with Lena and Lucy in the front and Kara in the back. And every once in a while, Lena would turn around to smile at Kara. 

“You okay back there?” Lucy asked turning her head back to look at Kara.

“Yeah.” Kara said, going a little faster to trot next to Lucy. “How far do we have?” she asked looking at her.

“We’re almost there.” Lucy answered. “But remember, they have different customs. So don’t be weird.”

“Good advice, Lucy.” Lena said nodding. ”Really, just profound.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Lucy said, then speed up her horse with the others following. Lines of smoke was visible in the distance, with countless large tents surrounding them. “We are here.” Lucy said.

They slowed down after reaching the edge of the village, end entered with Lucy on the front. It was as if everyone in the village was watching them. Lucy stopped and jumped down from her horse. A girl about fifteen years old ran up to her and they hugged.

“Rain Drops.” Lucy said, which was the girls name. “Can you help my friends with their horses?” she asked with a smile.

“Of course, Miss Lucy.” the girl said as Kara and Lena jumped down from their horses too.

“Now what did I say you should call me?” Lucy asked, still smiling.

“Right, just Lucy.” she said nodding, and took the lines of the horses, walking to hitch them with the rest of the village’s animals.

“Alright.” Lucy said turning to Kara and Lena. They were standing a couple steps behind her, while the villagers was watching their every move. She turned around to look at the people. They almost looked worse than they did, when she rode out to get help.

“Everyone.” she said loudly, like she was making an announcement. “This is Lena.” she said indicating with her hand, as everyone else turned to her. “She is a doctor. And she is going to help us.”

“A woman doctor?” someone from the crowd asked.

“Yeah, they have those now.” Lucy answered turning to him.

Someone from the back started squeezing between people, until they were in the front. It was a young man, with a brown suit and circular glasses. “Lucy.” he exclaimed and ran up to greet her. “I was worried about you.”

“Now Winn, when did I ever fail?” Lucy smiled as they shook hands. He then turned to the two women behind her. “Winslow Schott, at your service.” he said taking of his hat.

“Lena Luthor.” Lena said as they shook hands. Kara followed after her.

“Pleased to meet you both.” Winn said after they finished with the greetings. “Your arrival couldn’t have been more timely.” he added, worry apparent in his voice.

“I am here to do all I can to help.” Lena said determinedly.

“And this is your assistant?” Winn asked gesturing towards Kara.

Lena turned her head to Kara. “She...” Kara was waiting with a smile to hear her explanation. “Yes, she is my assistant.” she said turning back to Winn. “I would like to start as soon as possible.” she added looking at Winn.

“Of course.” Winn said. “Follow me.” he said, starting to walk between tents. Most of the crowd was back at their normal day to day activities. “Now I was only expecting one person, so we only have one tent up.” he said after stopping next to a tent. “But I can get another up by tomorrow.”

Lena looked at Kara, as if to gauge her expression. Kara shrugged, she wouldn’t mind sharing a tent with Lena. ‘And why bother more people?’ she thought to herself. 

“I... I think we can manage.” Lena said turning to Winn.

“I bet.” Lucy murmured to herself.

“Great.” Winn said with a smile. “Your bags should be inside.” he said and started to walk backwards. “I’ll be around if you need me.” he added and left.

Lucy turned to them. “You guys settle in, and rest.” she said. “I’ll come and get you in an hour.” With that, she left for her own tent.

Kara and Lena were left alone, in front of the tent. “You don’t mind sharing, do you?” Lena asked, looking at Kara.

“No no, of course not.” Kara answered quickly.

“Just it was like I made the decision myself...” Lena rambled on.

“I would have said the same thing.” Kara said, smiling at her. She stepped closer to the tent and lifted the cloth door. “Now, come on in.”

~

“Mom, can you help with the stuff upstairs later?” Ruby asked after baking a bite from her breakfast.

“Did you do all of your chores?” Sam asked taking a sip of her coffee.

“I’ll finish them all after breakfast, I promise.” Ruby answered enthusiastically.

“Well, okay then.” Sam said nodding.

“I’m afraid I can’t help you carry anything.” Alex said joining in.

“I know, don’t worry.” Ruby said smiling at Alex. “You can help me decorate after it’s finished.”

“It’ll be my pleasure.” Alex said smiling back. She turned her head to Sam, who was watching their exchange with a smile of her own. “I’ll be outside, practicing. So don’t worry when you hear gunshots, okay?” she said to Sam.

“Sure.” Sam replied. “I’ll help you find some targets.”

~

“Are you guys ready?” Lucy called from outside the tent, but there was no response. She lifted the tent door, to see Kara and Lena sleeping on the straw mattress, with Lena’s head on Kara’s shoulder. “Ehem.” she fake coughed loudly.

Suddenly startled awake, Lena lifted her head to see Lucy staring at her. She looked down and saw Kara, still sleeping. She quickly got to a sitting position and nudged Kara awake. “Kara... Kara...” Kara blinked a couple of times and shot up. “I am awake.” she said.

“Good.” Lucy said. “I talked to the chief. He is giving you permission to visit every house that came in contact with the disease.” she said as the other two got prepared. “They moved the sick people away from the main village, but apparently more people are still getting sick.”

“Let’s go already.” Lena said getting her medical bag. She was intending on working right away, but a day’s worth of riding had its toll on the body. Resulting in her sleeping right next to Kara, head on her shoulder. Now she needed to make up for lost time.

They walked between tents with Kara still blinking to fully wake up. It was a couple hours since their arrival on the village. Lucy had let them sleep for more than the hour she had said, but she knew Lena needed the rest. She had a feeling there wouldn’t be much sleeping for the next couple of days.

After crossing the unofficial edge of the village, a group of tents became visible in the distance. “Oh, wait.” Lena said, stopping. She crouched on the floor and started looking around in her bag.

“What is it?” Kara asked, crouching next to Lena.

“We don’t know how this thing spreads.” Lena said and grabbed the masks, holding it out for them. “We need protection unless it spreads by air.” she said as Lucy reached for one.

“Good thinking.” Lucy said as she put on the mask. It seemed like some kind of white cloth, but she left the science part for Lena.

“Yeah, sure.” Kara said and put on her mask. She didn’t really need it, but the others didn’t know that.

They reached the small area with the tents of people that came in contact with the disease, and at first Kara was shocked at seeing that many people look so miserable. Some of them were laying on blankets, holding a hand to their stomachs. There were children being comforted by their parents, and at there, Kara felt out of place. 

Lena on the other hand, she was already in action. That was how she always was. It didn’t even take a moment for her to gain her composure, when someone needed her help. She crouched down near a child and started her examination. Kara crouched down with her, waiting for Lena’s instructions.

Kara grabbed the bag Lena held out for her. She would call out the name of instruments, and Kara would hold them out for her to take. Lucy chose to wait a couple of steps behind. She wanted to be close enough if they needed her, but she didn’t want to crowd them at the same time.

Lena examined everyone, one by one. She took special care with each of them, and listened to their complaints, sometimes with Lucy’s translations. All of which fascinated Kara. She was impressed with how Lena found a way to relate to each of them. 

By the time they were finished with the last patient, the sun was on its way down. Lena walked over to the edge of the village, and took of her mask. Kara and Lucy followed her.

“It can’t be...” Lena murmured to herself. Then she remembered one of her fathers sayings, ‘If it sounds like hoofbeats, it’s horses, not zebras.’. 

“What can’t be?” Kara said, waiting behind her.

Lena turned to where Kara and Lucy was watching her curiously. “It’s cholera.” she said looking at Lucy.

“But people have died.” Lucy said confused. “How can it be cholera? Doesn’t that heal after sometime?”

“It does.” Lena said nodding. “But this is a different kind. A more dangerous strain.” she said. “I don’t understand how it’s spread here.” that was why she was hesitant about her diagnosis. Only time she had read about that strain was during the war.

“What can we do?” Kara said, she was determined to help.

“There is a plant called Echinacea. It’s a large pink flower. I have some, but it’s not enough. We need to gather as much as possible.” Lena said.

“Okay, I’ll send a group out.” Lucy said nodding.

“And we need to give them fluids. Lots of fluids.” Lena said. “But first, I need to check your water supply.” she added.

“Why?” Kara asked curiously.

“We need to find where this disease is coming from.” Lena said thoughtfully. “And the most common way for spreading is water.”

“Okay then, follow me.” Lucy said and started walking with the others behind her. “We usually use the well over there, and there is a lake a couple of miles out.” she said gesturing with her hands.

They reached the well, and all three of them leaned in to look. The almost setting dark didn’t help, but the water looked clean.

“I don’t see anything.” Lucy said squinting her eyes.

Kara discretely used her X-Ray vision to scan the bottom. At first she didn’t notice anything, but then a cloth waving in the water caught her eye. “There is something down there.” she said indicating with a finger.

“I can’t see it.” Lena said, leaning closer.

“I should go down there and bring it up.” Kara said, and started to roll her sleeves.

“Are you crazy?” Lucy asked. “It’s about to getting dark, you won’t find anything.” 

Lena knew that wasn’t a problem. If Kara was like Sam, as they thought she was, she would be fine. “Are you sure?” she asked instead.

“Yes.” Kara said, determined to help.

“I believe that was a yes on the crazy too.” Lucy said, staring at Kara.

“Come on Lucy, just hold on to the rope.” Kara said with a smile, and gave Lucy the rope, which was tied to a bucket.

“Fine.” Lucy said with a huff. The all interaction would have made Lena laugh, if it weren’t for the actual situation they were in.

Kara smiled at Lena one last time, before Lucy lowered her down the well. Lena would have liked to watch Kara work, but she decided helping Lucy with the rope was the more reasonable thing to do. Kara reached a hand into the water, taking support with the other on the rope. She pulled on the cloth and lifted it out. It looked like a sack.

“Okay, lift me up.” Kara shouted up, and slowly Lucy and Lena dragged her up, with Kara using a tiny bit of flying aid. Once she reached the edge, she pulled herself up and dropped the sack on the ground.

“What is that?” Lena asked squatting next to it.

“More importantly, where did it come from?” Lucy asked turning the sack to the other side. The only markings on the cloth was two faded out letters, spelling out ‘US’. “We don’t use these here.” she said, thinking about it.

“Did you notice anything else down there?” Lena asked, looking up to Kara.

“No, I didn’t.” Kara said shaking her head.

“Well then, let’s hope we found our culprit.” Lena said. The implications of an outside influence was unspoken, but heavy. Still, she wanted to focus on the sick people, and left the other part for Lucy to mull over. “We have to seal that well.” she said.

“I am on it.” Kara said and went to work.

~

Alex draw her sidearm from its holster once again. Anyone watching her from the sidelines would think she was really fast, but she knew she was faster before. She put her gun back and draw it back again. Multiple targets of used cans and bottles were left untouched in the distance.

She heard the sound of footsteps on grass and turned her head back. Sam was walking towards her with a dark brown longskirt, and a white shirt tucked in. She looked beautiful with the sun almost behind her.

“Are you actually going to shoot anything?” Sam asked when she reached Alex.

“Oh, did you come here to watch me shoot?” Alex asked cheekily.

“Sure.” Sam said with a smile. 

“Okay, watch this.” Alex said, feeling confident. She lowered her gun for a moment, then brought it up in an instant and started firing towards the targets. When her ammo was finished, all the targets were down.

“Now, that was...” Sam said, feeling very heated for a moment. “That was sure something.” she said smiling.

“Do you want to give it a go?” Alex offered with a smile, after loading her gun back. She held it out for Sam.

“Sure, why not?” Sam said and took the gun. Alex walked over to the target station and placed them back. She returned to Sam and watched her aim.

Sam was slower when it came to switching between targets, but when the chamber was finished, all the targets were down. Now Alex was feeling the heat. “Wow.” she said.

“Yeah, I now my way around a gun.” Sam said with a wink, and blew the smoke at the end of the gun. She mostly did it because of the way Alex was looking at her. Alex slowly walked towards Sam, until she was right in front of her.

“What else do you know your way around?” Alex asked, going for a deeper voice.

“I can show you a couple...” Sam said and pulled Alex closer, holding from her belt. She had a devious smile, that made Alex feel weak inside. Was that too soon? To feel this way only after three weeks? She used to think she knew how passion felt like, but with Sam it was so much more.

The questions disappeared from Alex’s mind, when Sam kissed her. She let herself feel lost in the kiss, and let her hands wonder at Sam’s back. Sam was at a disadvantage, because she was still holding Alex’s gun with her right hand, but she held on to her with the other one.

Neither of them knew how much time had passed, until Alex noticed the nearing sound of hoofbeats. She stepped back from the kiss, apparently Sam had noticed the sounds too.

“God, not this again.” Alex said with a groan. She could see James riding towards the south gate. “Does a day go by here without someone riding in like they are running from the devil himself?” she asked, watching James.

“You’re one to talk.” Sam said turning to her. “You guys rode in here too.”

Alex halfheartedly chuckled at that. “I’m afraid you might need this back.” Sam said and gave Alex the gun back. Couple of minutes later, James stopped his horse right in front of them and jumped down.

“Are you alright James?” Sam asked stepping closer.

“Yes, Miss Arias.” James answered, breathing heavily. “I just need to catch my breath for a second.” he said holding his knees. After he had started to breathe normally, he looked at them. “I apologize for riding in like this.” he said, gesturing towards the gate.

“That’s nothing to apologize about.” Sam said with an understanding smile.

James smiled back, then looked at Alex. “I don’t believe we have met.” he said. “James Olsen.” he added to introduce himself.

“Alex Danvers.” Alex replied with a nod. “I thought you would be coming with supplies tomorrow.” she said looking at him.

“I was, but something happened this morning.” James replied, while the others listened to him with rapt attention. “Two men rode into town. Do you remember the two guys that stopped a bank robbery?” he asked looking at them. Sam nodded, while Alex didn’t like where this was going. “Yeah, they were looking for them. And they didn’t believe when we said we didn’t see them.” he said. “They rode out, threatening to level the town for lying.”

“What about the sheriff?” Alex asked. She was feeling guilty, it was her those guys were looking for.

“He rode out to get the marshals.” James answered. “Though I don’t think he can bring them back in time. I came here to warn you all.”

“I am coming back with you.” Alex said determinedly, and checked her gun’s ammo.

“Are you sure you can ride?” Sam asked looking at her. She knew this was about Alex, even though they hadn’t talked about her past, yet.

“I think so.” Alex said. “How good of a shot are you?” she asked to James.

“I hunt sometimes.” James said, thinking about it.

“Okay, try this.” Sam said and gave him a rifle leaning to Alex’s make shift table. James took the gun, and aimed. He good, but he stilled missed a couple targets.

“So you are not that good.” Alex said sighing.

“James, can you stay here with Ruby?” Sam asked. Alex turned to look at her with confusion apparent on her face.

“I can, but I should go back and fight.” James said, though he didn’t like his chances when it came to a full on shootout.

“I will go.” Sam said with determination. “You know I am a better shot then you. But I need to know my daughter will be safe.” 

“Yes, I’ll look after her.” James said nodding.

Alex reached for Sam’s arm and pulled her to the side. “Are you crazy?” she whispered.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sam asked looking at her.

“You are putting yourself in danger.” Alex said.

“I am protecting people.” Sam replied, she knew not to get angry, because she knew this was just Alex being protective.

“I can handle the situation.” Alex said. “Stay here.”

“Alex, I know we haven’t really talked about this...” Sam said. “But I know those guys are looking for you.” Alex knew denying it would be meaningless, so she stayed quiet. “And I can help you. You just saw me shoot.” Sam said, gesturing towards the targets. Even though the main reason she wanted to go was because of her powers, she was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

“Arghh. God.” Alex groaned. It was obvious Sam wouldn’t change her mind. “Fine.” Alex said. “But you have to do everything I tell you to do. Okay?”

“Okay.” Sam said with a smile.

“Looks like we have a town to save.” Alex murmured to herself.


	8. The Somber Celebration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! God this chapter is so late, I’m sorry if it looked like I forgot about it. Long story short, a lot of things in life happened, that I wasn’t equipped to handle with at the time. But thankfully I’m better now. And I don’t know how many of you’re around for this anymore, but if you are, this chapter is for you.  
> Ps:I’m sorry if I didn’t reply to your comment before. I do read all of them and give me so much joy/energy.  
> Ps2:I made Lena Irish in this story, and the show confirmed it a month later. I really should’ve been an oracle.

“So, what’s the deal with this place?” Alex asked as they neared the small town. It was starting to get dark, with the sun setting in the distance. She let her horse slow down, they were almost there anyway.

“Some of them used to work in my ranch.” Sam said, causing Alex to look at her curiously. “There was an accident.” she said, planning to explain the ‘accident’ when they had more time. “I had to downsize.” she added. “They don’t like me very much.”

“Yet, you are riding there to help them.” Alex commented, indicating towards the town with her head.

Sam shrugged. “And you’ve never even met them.” she said looking at Alex.

“I took an oath to protect those who can’t protect themselves.” Alex said. “It’s even more so, because they are in danger because of me.”

Sam took a glance at Alex’s vest. The sheriff’s star was now attached to it, gleaming in the last rays of the sun. “So, you are actually a sheriff.” Sam said.

“Not quite.” Alex said and decided to explain. “It was my father’s.” she said. “I took it after he died, to make sure something like that didn’t happen again.”

“Oh, I am sorry about your father.” Sam said with an emphatic expression.

“It was a long time ago.” Alex said, waving it off.

They were now at the unmarked edge of the town, and they were quite a sight to go unnoticed. Alex was in her dark riding clothes, complete with her black hat and sheriff’s star. Even more striking, she had her two Smith&Wessons on her gun belt, and a rifle across her back.

Sam hadn’t changed from her dark brown long skirt and white shirt combination, with the addition of a dark brown hat. But she also had a rifle across her back. To a small town, they screamed nothing but trouble.

They slowly rode in, and as they passed through the first buildings, people started peaking out of windows and doors. Alex looked around to see that there wasn’t too many people in the town to begin with.

“I suggest you stop right there.” the barber said after stepping outside with a shotgun. The way he was aiming told Alex that he would more likely hit himself then her.  
But it would still be wise to keep her cool.

“We heard you might be needing some help.” Alex said in a loud voice, not just answering him, but talking to the whole town. She stopped her horse and leaned her hands on the saddle’s pommel.

“We don’t need help from the likes of you.” the funeral home owner said, wiping his hands with a towel. “Not from you, or that red eyed witch.” he said, pointing at Sam. 

Alex took a glance at Sam, she was surprised at hearing that particular adjective, then turned her head to the mortician. “I believe the contrary.” Alex said in her loud voice. “If the men riding here are who I think they are...” she added. “You are going to need all the help you can get.” she said, and added with a confident shrug. “We happen to be the closest.”

“And who are you?” a man asked walking towards them. He had an air of wisdom with him, and he was staring at Alex.

“Alex Danvers.” Alex said, staring back at him. She felt like she knew him, but couldn’t remember how.

“Daughter of Jeremiah Danvers?” the man said, now in front of her.

“That’s right.” Alex said nodding. “And who might you be?” she asked.

“An old friend of your father’s.” he said with a small smile. “Hank Henshaw.” he said introducing himself.

“You...” Alex said remembering. He was the one who had brought Kara to their home. He nodded, as if to confirm her thoughts.

“Hank has the best farm around here.” Sam said, after Alex didn’t finish her sentence. “He is the one we get our supplies from.” she added to explain how they knew each other.

“That’s right.” Hank said nodding. “Now, do you have a plan on what we should do?” he asked looking at Alex.

“Why should we even listen to them?” the barber asked, he still had his gun aimed at Alex.

“ _Sir_ , if you keep on pointing that shotgun at me, you’re not gonna like what happens next.” Alex said, turning to the barber. 

”Yeah, like what?” the barber replied, chuckling to himself. He hadn’t noticed the deadly glare coming from Alex. She took her sidearm in an instant, and fired a shot before anyone could react. The barber sign fell from the wall and hit the barber in the head, knocking him out.

“Any other questions?” Alex asked, holstering her gun back. Almost everyone shook their heads, while Hank was smiling. “Now...” Alex started, she had multiple ideas forming in her head since they rode in. “How many of you can actually shoot?” she asked turning the horse around to look at the gathered people. All the able men had their hands in the air, which was a little more than ten.

“Can any of you women shoot?” Alex asked looking between the women. They needed more guns for this to actually work. A small commotion started between the woman, and hesitant hands were lifted up.

“Now, that’s more like it.” Alex said. “You need to go get all the guns you can find. There needs to be at least two rifles on each rooftops.” she said gesturing to the buildings. “Children, and anyone who can’t shoot, needs to hide.”

“There is a cellar under the church.” Hank said. “It’s newly built, it’s safe.”

“Yes, that works.” Alex said. “Last time I met Corben, he had twenty five men with him.” she said. “If we are to have a chance, we have to act smarter than them.”

~

It took Lucy’s team of flower pickers a day to ride out and return with enough supplies. Then Lena explained to a group of people how it should be prepared, and multiple fires were started on the medicine. 

Lena spent the entire day walking between the fires and inspecting them. With Kara’s help, they managed to administer the medicine to every patient by dark. It was supposed to be trying work, but Kara managed to make her smile.

At the end of the day, beat from all the work, they would retreat back to their small tent. It was a unspoken, but it was the routine of the last couple of days. They both tried to make the other one more comfortable, give them more space, but each morning Lena woke up with her head on Kara’s shoulder. She was pretty sure Kara always woke up before her, but didn’t say anything.

Next morning, after breakfast, Lena was in their tent, trying to focus on her book of herbs when Kara rushed in. “Lena!” Kara exclaimed with a smile. “It’s working!”

“What?” Lena asked, not understanding. “What’s working?”

“The medicine!” Kara said. “It’s working!”

“Oh my god!” Lena exclaimed. In her excitement, she jumped to hug Kara, making her try not to lose her footing. She slowly stepped back from the hug, leaving but a short distance between them. They were close, too close. Lena noticed Kara’s eyes glance downward. She took that as a sign, and slowly leaned forward...

“Lena!” Lucy said, walking into the tent, making them startle apart. “Oh, I didn’t...” she said, noticing the sight in front of her. “I see you already got the news.” she said after a moment.

“I did.” Lena, said nodding. She discreetly walked away from Kara, who was just standing there, still shocked from a moment ago.

“The chief has decided to throw a celebration in your honor.” Lucy said smiling. “We are having a bonfire tonight.”

“Oh, Lucy that’s really not necessary.” Lena said, she was just there to help, she didn’t want to bother anyone.

“Nonsense.” Lucy said, waving it off. “I’ll let you guys finish up here.” she said and left them alone in the tent.

They stayed quiet for a moment. Lena didn’t know whether to acknowledge it or leave it alone. “I should help with the new well.” Kara said and hurried out the tent. Now Lena was left alone. She decided on visiting her patients, at least it would take her mind off things.

~

Sam looked through the small back window. She and Alex were stationed in the sheriff’s office, as it only made sense considering Alex was the closest thing the town had to the law. With Hank supporting them, the town folk didn’t disagree. In fact, some of them were friendly. Too friendly for Sam’s taste.

The door opened, helping the morning sun inside. Alex was resting on a chair, hat on her face, and when she heard the door, she quickly took of the hat and looked towards the door. Two saloon girls were walking, one with a basket dangling in her arm. She assumed it was breakfast.

“Good morning, sheriff.” the blonde one said. They stopped right next to Alex, while Sam was staring from the other side of the room. Did they even see her there?

“Oh... Good morning ladies.” Alex said looking between them.

“We brought you breakfast.” the brunette one said. She ghosted a hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“That’s... You didn’t have to...” Alex said, trying to look away.

“But we wanted to.” the blonde said, leaning forward. Her dress didn’t leave much to imagination.

“Yes, and there is more back at the saloon.” the brunette added. “If you want.” she winked.

“You know with the town being under threat...” Alex said, trying to keep a straight face. “But I appreciate the offer.” she added.

“We’ll be waiting.” they said in unison, and left the office, leaving Alex shaking her head in disbelief , and Sam in shock.

“What just happened?” Sam asked waving a hand towards the door.

“They brought us breakfast.” Alex said indicating the basket with her hand. 

“That’s not what I am talking about.” Sam said walking towards Alex’s chair.

“They were just being nice.” Alex said, and started emptying the basket.

“And does that happen at every town you go to?” Sam asked perching on the desk in front of Alex. “People being nice.”

Alex turned her head to look up at her. “Wait, are you jealous?” she asked, a smile starting to form on her face. Sam pursed her lips and avoided her eyes. Alex got up from her chair to stand right in front of Sam.

“You are jealous.” Alex said smiling.

“Fine. It just feels stupid.” Sam said looking at Alex. 

“It’s not stupid.” Alex said and leaned in for a small kiss. “You know I really like you, right?” she said stepping back.

“You don’t _really_ know me.” Sam replied.

“I do know enough.” Alex said, looking at Sam in the eyes. “I know you’re an amazing mom, a great friend, a sharp shooter. And also smart, strong... beautiful, so very beautiful.”

Sam tried to keep her composure, but Alex’s genuine tone got to her. She smiled and pulled Alex by her lapels, in for a short kiss.

“Now will you have breakfast with me before we get in the middle of a shootout?” Alex said after she stepped back, and Sam followed. 

~

The sun was setting when Lena finally returned to the tent, to change her clothes for the night’s celebration. The chief didn’t directly meet them in all the time they were here, and she wanted to look respectful for when they did. She changed into her black long skirt, with a white shirt tucked in.

With a one last look at her clothes, Lena stepped back outside. She looked around, trying to find Kara, but she was unsuccessful. Kara had disappeared since the morning. Lena was worried it was about what happened, more like didn’t happen. Dread was setting in, maybe she had misread Kara after all.

“Miss Luthor!” Winn said walking over to her.

“Good afternoon, Mister Schott.” Lena said with a greeting smile. 

“It is indeed.” Winn replied. ”The fire is being set up this way.” he said gesturing Lena to follow him.

“I told Lucy this was unnecessary...” Lena said shaking her head. She didn’t want to be a burden to these people, who already had too much to worry about.

“Not at all.” Winn said. “If it weren’t for you, the disease would sweep through the town like wildfire.”

“I... well...” Lena didn’t know how to respond to that praise. They were walking between tents, towards a large clearing in the middle. She decided to change the subject.

“Have you seen Kara?” Lena asked turning her head to Winn. “My assistant.” she added.

“I think so.” Winn answered. “She was trying the food with the kids. They seemed to really like her.” 

Lena smiled at that. She could imagine Kara trying to entertain the kids, and enjoying herself. They reached the clearing where people were slowly gathering all around a large pile of wood. She followed Winn, to the area prepared for sitting.

Without really intending to, Lena got swept up in a conversation on mechanical physics with Winn, who she barely knew. They had been in the village for days, but Lena was too busy to be curious about his business here. Turned out he was a railroad engineer, who helped the Chief in stopping a construction through consecrated ground. Now, he was accepted as one of them.

It surprised Lena how much she enjoyed being able to talk science with someone, even though a part of her was still wondering where Kara was.

As the afternoon got darker, they were accompanied by drums and music. Woman would bring Lena gifts, and Winn explained to her it would be rude to turn them back. This was the first time her efforts as a doctor was appreciated, instead of looked down at. She wanted to share all that with Kara, when she found her.

An increase of the drums’ rhythms announced the Chief arrival to the clearing. Lena got up from her seat, followed by Winn, and a crowd of people seperated. A tall man, face visibly hardened by life stopped in front of Lena.

“It’s an honor to meet the medicine woman.” the Chief said, his kind voice contradicting with his appearance.

“The honor is all mine.” Lena replied. “Thank you, for your hospitality.”

“Let us enjoy tonight’s celebrations.” the Chief pointed at the seating area. “Please, join me, _healer._ ”

Lena couldn’t help but feel proud at being offered a seat next to a respected leader. She nodded with a smile and followed him as he settled down.

“Miss Lucy tells me, you found what brought this curse onto my people.” Chief said, watching Lena’s face for an answer.

“All I found is a possible origin.” Lena said. “I can’t say anything conclusive.”

“But you are sure that it is not natural.”

“Yes.” Lena exhaled. “Again, I can’t say anything for certain.”

“But I can, Miss Luthor.” Chief had an solemn expression on his face. “My people’s very existence here is a threat to yours. That’s why General Lane is so determined to end us. The Butcher of Blackwater will stop at nothing to accomplish that, he will try every method.” he said. “ _Today_ , that was disease.”

He was very direct with Lena. While everyone around them sang and dance, they were on the verge of talking war, and Lena felt overwhelmed by the implications.

“Are you sure it was General Lane?” Lena asked. “He knows his daughter stays in your camp. Any attempt at spreading disease would affect her too.”

“When you keep on fighting a war that is long over, you stop caring about the casualties.” Chief said. “You just want to win, no matter the cost.”

“Then let’s go to Washington, Congress...” Lena offered. “Even to the president. Government made you a promise, there’s a peace treaty in effect...”

Chief stopped her. “I appreciate your efforts, but there were peace treaties before.” He had a sad smile on his face. “They stop working when one side treats them as suggestions.”

“But...” Lena was stopped again.

“Ease your mind, healer.” Chief said. “My people will not start anything over this. But we will defend ourselves, if it happens again.” He looked at her with piercing eyes. “Remember the grasshopper.”

‘One, two three...’ Lena thought to herself, it was as clear as it could be.

“Now, enough with this grimm talk.” Chief said as wooden trays piled with various delicious looking food was brought in front of them. “Let’s enjoy tonight.”

Lena waited for the Chief to reach first, then followed after him. She was proud of herself for managing to hold onto her thoughts on the food, it was probably one of the most beautifully prepared meal she ever had. And she knew a particular blonde that could inhale the tray in minutes. She started looking around, trying to find her, but all she found was a worried looking Lucy slowly making her way towards them.

“Lucy, what’s going on?” Lena asked after Lucy reached her side.

“Nothing, nothing at all.” Lucy said, trying to keep a straight face as to not alert the people surrounding them. “Would you please just follow me?”

Lena didn’t try to question it when Lucy was being so uncharacteristically kind with her. She stood up and with an apology at the Chief followed after Lucy. They passed between people to the empty part of the clearing, then Lucy started going towards the treeline.

“Lucy, what’s going on?” Lena asked, pulling her skirt up to easily follow after Lucy.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Lucy said passing the first tree, and soon enough they reached the sight that had Lucy so worried.

Kara was currently floating next to an apple tree, quickly munching on one, then grabbing another. She seemed to be humming to herself, while swaying a little, and Lena was pretty sure she had no idea they were watching her.

“Oh shit.” Lena couldn’t help herself.

“My thoughts exactly.” Lucy pried her eyes away from Kara and turned to Lena. “Wait, you don’t look so surprised.”

“Not really.”

“So you knew your new found buddy could fly.” Lucy said as if to ask.

“She’s not my...” Lena decided not to counter Lucy. “I guessed she could. Though I have no idea why she’s doing that now.” She said, waving a hand towards the tree.

“I might help you with that.” Lucy reached into her pocket and revealed a circular green plant with small thorns coming out of it. “One of the villagers saw her drink something made with this.”

“What’s this?” Lena reached for the plant and knew what it was the moment it was in her palm. “This is peyote!” she exclaimed. “Who let her drink it?!.”

“Hey, hey.” Lucy put her hands forward in a defensive gesture. “I can’t be everywhere at once.”

“Fine.” Lena said, then turned back to Kara, who was gently swaying in the moonlight. “We have to get her down before anyone sees it. She’s out of her mind right now.”

“You do that.” Lucy said. “I’ll help from a safe distance.”

“Appreciated.” Lena said in a tone dripping with sarcasm, and slowly started walking towards Kara. She didn’t want to startle her, so she made her presence known the moment she was close enough.

“Kara?” Lena tried in the softest tone possible. “Are you okay over there?”

Kara looked down, and a large smile covered her face. “Lena!” she looked so glad to see her. “Of course I’m okay!”

“Good, good.” Lena nodded. “Maybe try and come down from up there then.”

“Oooh...” Kara looked at her feet, and it was apparent that she only now realized she was flying. She lowered herself and her feet made contact with the ground, right in front of Lena.

“Thank you.” Lena said, putting as much kindness in her voice as she could. “Now let’s get you sobered up, okay?” She started to turn back, but realized Kara wasn’t moving, but standing there with a goofy smile on her face. “What is it?”

“Did you know we’re all made up of atoms? And there are so many atoms. Sooo many.” Kara said, which didn’t make any sense to Lena.

“I’m sure.”

“And, and atoms, there are so many atoms in the universe.” Kara looked at the night sky. “Universe… It’s so beautiful.” She turned back to Lena. “And you… You’re so beautiful. Like the universe.”

“Ah, thank you, Kara.” Lena managed. Then Kara looked down at her lips, and said, ”So beautiful.” again. It was the only warning she had before Kara leaned forward and put a sloppy kiss on her lips.

Lena didn’t have time to react, respond, or do anything about the kiss. It certainly wasn’t how she had imagined her first kiss with Kara would be, not that she’d imagined them kissing… on multiple occasions. No, none of her daydreams included Kara being this incapacitated.

Thankfully, the kiss didn’t take more than a second, and Kara stepped back, smiling. Lena found herself smiling too. Oh, she would have so much fun telling Kara what she did, when she got sober. For now, she linked their arms and started walking towards the village. “Come on.”

“Oh Lucy!” Kara noticed Lucy after they took a couple steps.

“Don’t you dare say anything.” Lena pointed a finger at Lucy’s smiling face. And they all kept walking.

“Do you think she hates me?” Kara asked in Lena’s ear, in a tone anything but whisper. Lena just shook her head with a smile. 

_‘Where the hell am I going to find coffee grounds?’_

~ 

Alex heard the commotion coming from outside, and got up from her seat, followed by Sam. She opened the door and slowly stepped towards the road. A rider was coming with a cloud of dust behind him, shining in the moonlight.

“Must be the lookout.” Sam said, standing next to Alex.

“He is.” Hank said behind them. 

“Tell everyone to get ready.” Alex ordered a nearby town person. “Here we go.”


	9. The Fire in the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I did not expect you guys to still be here for this story! I’m so happy right now. One thing that has been brought up: super hearing. I see that as something both Kara and Sam has learned to tune out, and only focus on their surroundings normally. It makes sense to me that way, otherwise hearing every part of the world would be overwhelming. I hope it makes sense to you guys too.

“Okay, this should help.” Lena held out a glass for Kara, who was sitting on a tree trunk, away from the main village. “I think. I don’t really know how your body works.”

Kara eyed the glass, then took it. For the first time in her life, or more likely the last ten years, she had a headache. And she was eager to do whatever was necessary to stop it. 

Lena settled next to Kara on the fallen tree, and turned to the bonfire still going in the distance, while Kara took a sip of her glass and immediatelly bursted it all out, even spraying Lena.

“Kara!” Lena exclaimed, turning back to Kara. 

“I’m sorry.” Kara apologized. “But this is terrible.” She glanced at the glass in disgust.

“And you have to drink all of it.” Lena sighed. “Plus, you should’ve thought twice before munching on every edible thing in sight.”

“I don’t mu...” Kara gave up. “Fine.” She pinched her nose with one hand, and brought the glass to her mouth. She didn’t stop until she had managed to down the entire glass, and when she did, it was followed with a loud “Blergh...”.

Lena found herself smiling at that. “Good girl.” she murmured.

“I’m never drinking that again.” Kara said, covering up a cough.

“Let’s hope so. By the way, it was Lucy that prepared the drink.” Lena said. “So the extra bitterness might be a result of asking if she hates you.”

“Oh god.” Kara groaned, putting her face in her hands. “I really said that.” 

“Among other things.” Lena shrugged. “Apparently, I’m as beautiful as the universe.”

Kara straightened at the words. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, Lena.” She managed to turn to Lena in what small seating they had. “Oh my god, I kissed you, oh my god...”

“Please stop saying ‘Oh god.’.” Lena copied Kara’s position and turned to her. 

“But I didn’t give you a way out.” Kara looked sad. “I didn’t even ask…”

“If you did, I wouldn’t say no.” Lena slowly said.

It took a moment for Kara to realize the words, but when she did, a large smile covered her face. Lena took that as a sign, a sign that Kara was sober enough, and also wanted the same thing. She leaned forward, giving both of them plenty of time to back away. Kara’s smile turned into a surprised one, and she looked down at Lena’s lips.

With to much dread, Kara put a hand on Lena’s chest and stopped her. Now, Lena had the confused expression.

“There’s something you should know.” Kara said, not making eye contact with Lena. “I’m not from around here.”

“I know.” Lena replied.

“I don’t mean like this city.” Kara took a deep breath. “I’m not from this world, planet… whatever you call it.”

“Kara.” Lena put a curved index finger under Kara’s chin and forced her to look up. “I know.”

Kara looked at her with narrowed eyebrows, and Lena explained. “You really should be more careful. Normal people don’t go around carrying giant rocks by themselves.” She reminded Kara of her efforts on building the new well.

“You knew?” Kara asked. “For how long?”

“Ah...” Lena thought about. “Probably since your second day at the ranch.”

“And… you still let us stay with you.” Kara watched her with narrowed eyes. “Why?”

“Why?” Lena turned back to the fire. “You’re not the only one with secrets, Kara.” she said. “When I figured out you two were the good guys, not much else mattered.” she turned back to Kara. “Sam likes to call me an untrusting paranoiac, but I _do_ trust my own judgement. And I trust you.”

“Wow...” Kara couldn’t find the words to describe how she felt. 

“You’re not mad at me are you?” Lena asked. “For not letting you know that I knew, _well,_ both Sam and I knew.”

“No, of course not.” Kara quickly said, reaching for Lena’s hands. “Just surprised. I’m not used to people being this understanding of outsiders.”

“Well, I’m not like most people.” Lena had a soft smile on her face.

“No, you’re not.” Kara smiled too. She leaned forward, still holding Lena’s hands, and Lena met her halfway, pressing a soft kiss on her lips. It was short, not more then a brush of their lips, but it was a conformation that they were on the same page, no longer unsure if the other one wanted the same thing.

When the kiss was over, Lena leaned back, just enough to playfully brush their noses together, causing them both to laugh. “Now that was better.” she said, and Kara smiled at that.

Kara’s headache was gone now, maybe with the help of the awful cure Lucy had prepared, or her fast metabolism, but she was pretty sure the main reason was finally talking with Lena. 

They both turned back to the fire, and Lena linked their arms while leaning her head on Kara’s shoulder. “Tell me about where you’re from.”

Kara smiled. “Well, it was called Krypton...”

~

“What do you see?” Hank asked next to Alex.

“Only one rider.” Alex gave the binoculars to Hank, while the rider in the distance kept coming closer.

Their lookout was already back in the town, with the news of at least thirthy men riding in. He had to leave before getting a more certain account, barely escaping being noticed.

Sam unholstered her sidearm and checked the chambers again before putting it back. She didn’t need to use guns, she had her powers. But the townfolk was already talking too much about her, and she didn’t want to give them anymore reasons to continue.

Rider slowed down when he reached the town’s edge, and Alex stepped forward.

“That’s enough.” Alex had her sidearm trained on the rider, holding the gun right next to her hip. “One more step, and you’ll have one less ears.”

The rider stopped, and lifted his hands up in surrender. “I come with an offer from Lord Corben.”

Alex chuckled at that. “He calls himself Lord now, ha?” she said. “That’s rich.”

“Surrender yourself, and your sister. Or he’ll storm this town.” The rider said, ignoring Alex’s remark. “Either way, you’ll pay for what you did.”

“Interesting, threats of payement, coming from another murderer.” Alex replied. “Tell me, will your Lord Corben pay, for what he did to my father? To my town?”

“You’re on the edge of the rope, _sheriff_.” the rider spit out. “Your future is already written. Now, will you bring this kind folk down with yourself?” He gestured towards Sam and Hank on Alex’s sides, who were glaring back at him. “ _That_ is for you to decide. You have until dawn.” With that, he turned his horse back around, and rode out of town.

Alex holstered her gun back, and turned to Sam and Hank.

Sam stepped forward, worried at what Alex might do next. “You’re not thinking about surrendering yourself, are you?”

“No, of course not.” Alex said. The problem wasn’t about surrendering. If Corben were a man of his word, and actually would keep his promise after she surrendered, she wouldn’t give it a second thought. But she knew that wasn’t the case. “The moment we surrender, he’s going to attack the town anyway.”

“It might be sooner than that.” Hank stepped towards them. “That man...” he pointed at the rider in the distance. “He had no intention of waiting until dawn.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.” Alex turned back to the road. People started coming out of the dark, to the main road. And they were all looking at her expectantly. “Let’s draw the barricades!” Alex said in a voice that carried across the road. “We don’t have a lot of time.” She turned to a dark haired young man. “Did you get the barrels I asked you for?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded excitedly.

“Good.” Alex said. “I want one in the middle of each main road.” 

Young man ran to do what she asked, and Alex turned to another one. “Come with me.” She said and started walking. “I’ll show you how to set a line.”

Sam and Hank stayed behind, while Alex went to work with rest of the town.

“Do you think we have a chance?” Sam asked turning to Hank.

“Yes.”

“But if we don’t...”

“Are you trying to ask me if it’s a good idea to reveal yourself?” Hank turned his head to Sam.

“I’m just looking for some advice.” Sam replied. “You’re the only one here that knows.”

“You’re worried about how she might react.”

“Yes.” Sam said and they both turned to Alex as she showed the people around her how to set a trap wire.

“Don’t be.” Hank said, prompting Sam to look at her in confusion. “There are things you both don’t know about each other, but none of you will mind it when you do.”

“Like what?”

“That’s a talk you must have with Alex yourself.”

“I just love it when you talk like that.” Sam groaned. “All wise and mysterious.”

“What?” Hank smiled. “I have a reputation to protect.”

~

“Really?” Lena straightened to look at Kara’s face. “Your people really used flying machines, just to go across town?”

“Kinda.” Kara replied. “But it’s a lot more than that.”

“I know, you’re standing here as proof of that.” Lena said. “Still, it’s fascinating that a technology like that was common to everyone.”

“It was.” Kara looked sad for a moment.

“Are you okay?” Lena asked reaching for Kara’s hands. “We don’t have to keep talking if you don’t want to.”

“I want to talk about it, just...”. Kara sighed. “Overuse of resources to keep up with technology is what brought the end on Krypton.” she explained. “But it was so amazing before that.”

“I’m sure.” Lena smiled. And she also made a promise to herself, to not let something like that happen on Earth too.

-

“So…” Alex walked towards Sam while wiping her hands on her pants. “Am I going to be able to convince you to stay in a safe place?”

“I’m sure you know the answer to that.” Sam smiled.

“What if I asked you to stay on one of the roofs?” Alex reached her hands to Sam’s hips, pulling her closer.

“Will you?”

Alex shook her head.

“Then you know my answer too.” Sam said, putting her hands on Alex’s waist.

“This is going to be a shitstorm.” 

“Language.” Sam laughed, pinching Alex for the comment.

“Just being honest.” Alex smiled too. She pulled Sam closer, their heads almost touching, and closed her eyes to enjoy the quiet moment before their lives would be in danger.

They stayed like that for a while, and Sam wondered what she should do next. Then, after mustering enough courage, she leaned back, breaking them apart. Alex looked at her in confusion, expecting her to talk.

“Alex...” Sam took a deep breath. “There’s somethi...”

“They’re coming!” the shout caused them to turn to the lookout on the roof of the sheriff's office.

“Go.” Sam nodded, and Alex stepped back, hands lingering for a moment, then they both ran to their stations.

-

“It feels so good to speak about my home.” Kara smiled. They were watching the sky, with Lena leaning her head on Kara’s shoulder, celebration in the distance now dwindling down. “Only one I can really talk to was Alex.”

“Thank you.” Lena said, prompting Kara to lean back and search her face for a reason. “For trusting me.” Lena added, looking back.

Another large smile covered Kara’s face at that. “Of course.”

“Tell me more about you and Alex.” Lena said, not wanting the moment to get too heavy, and also wanting to keep the conversation moving.

“Alex, well, she was a piece of work.”

“I bet.” Lena chuckled to herself.

“I mean, you met her on a good day.” Kara said. “We never used to get along.”

“Are you saying that ending up on my dinner table with _two_ bullet wounds was a good day?”

“It is when it’s Alex.” Kara laughed at the shocked expression on Lena’s face. 

“So what changed?” Lena asked. “How did you start to get along?”

“She realized she was stuck with me.” Kara joked. “I don’t know, with time, we became close, became sisters. Now, I can’t imagine my life without her.”

“That’s nice.”

“She means the world to me.” Kara replied. “Even when she manages to get herself in trouble all the time.”

“You don’t seem any better at staying out of trouble.” Lena smiled.

“It’s usually for a good cause.”

“Sure.” Lena was still smiling. “At least you have each other.”

“Yeah.” Kara turned to look back towards the ending bonfire. “I wonder she’s up to now.”

“Probably snoring.” Lena copied Kara’s position. “If they listened to the _doctor’s orders._ But my money is on something else.”

“ _Something else_ , what something else?” Kara questioned, then the realization dawned on her. “Oh my god, really?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice them kissing, just before we returned from the creek?”

“I didn’t...” At the time, Kara was busy with staring at how Lena’s hair shined in the sun.

“Well, I’m sure they’re not bored.”

“Yeah.” Kara exhaled. “You know, I can actually find Alex, if I focus.”

“Really?” Lena questioned. “How?”

Kara decided to demonstrate. “I can find Alex’s heartbeat, anywhere in the world.” she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “I can hear it.”

Lena raised her eyebrows, and watched as Kara’s face changed. “What is wrong?”

“It… It’s too fast.” Kara narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She focused as much as she could, to narrow in on Alex’s surroundings. Then she heard the explosions. 

“Oh no!” Kara jumped to her feet, followed by Lena. 

“Kara?” Lena stepped closer. “What did you hear?”

“They… they’re in danger.” Kara started walking, nervous. “I heard gunshots.” She stopped right in front of Lena. “Lena, I have to go.”

She was almost flying away, but Lena grabbed her wrist in a strong grip. “Not without me.”

-

Alex leaned her back on a post, glancing every couple seconds to see how close the riders were. Sam was on the other side of the street, rifle aimed forward, on a porch. It was all too quiet, everyone holding their breaths while the sounds of riders came closer by the second.

A large explosion caused Alex to crouch down for cover, as the dark night light up. Then all hell broke loose. Alex quickly returned to her shooting position while a horse rode in through the fire, without a rider. First wave of riders passed through the fire, desperately trying to put away the fire on their clothes. 

Guns started shooting all around them, and for a moment, Alex was happy that their defence worked. She shot down one rider, while Sam took out the next. Then another explosion happened behind her, knocking her forward. Her happiness ended with that: they were being attacked on all sides.

Alex turned back and shot down a rider that had managed to jump over the fire, only to realize their defence on that side was almost to an end. Riders started pouring in from the back, Alex jumped for cover behind a building while bullets started flying near her.

“I told you to give up!” an angry shout rang. Corben’s messenger from before was clutching the raines of the scared horse in one hand, while holding a rifle with the other, smoke and blood covering his face.

Alex glanced towards the road, clutching her gun to her chest. “Not really my style!” Alex shouted back. She stepped away from cover, aimed forward, and with a soft squeeze of the trigger of her trusty Smith&Wesson, blew up the oil barrel in the middle of the road.

Flames erupted to the sky, bringing down every rider near the barrel, while Alex was knocked back with the gust of wind that followed. 

_Ringing… Her ears were ringing… Someone called her name... Pain… Pain on the back of her head almost unbearable... The smell of blood and fire..._

Alex opened her eyes to find Sam holding her head, shouting her name. At least, she thought that was shouting. She couldn’t hear anything, only the constant noise like she was next to a locomotive engine, but she could see Sam’s lips move with urgency. She reached a hand to her ear, tapped it, then shook her head to indicate her situation.

Sam nodded. She reached for Alex’s waist and pulled her up. Gun fight was continuing all around them, and Sam let her rifle dangle on her shoulder while reaching for her sidearm. Alex grabbed hers from the ground, swung an arm across Sam’s shoulders for support, and after checking the street, they ran towards cover of the sheriff's office.

Alex managed to shoot down a rider while Sam did the same. She could feel the near miss of the bullets, just when Sam faltered but didn’t lose her footing. Sam pulled Alex inside, barricaded the door with a nearby chair while Alex went for cover under the window.

A gunshot mixed with loud clashing brought the windows down, and they both covered their eyes. Sam sat down next to Alex, and her need to berate won over, even though she knew Alex couldn’t hear it.

“What the hell were you thinking?!.”

“Don’t shout at me I can’t hear you!”

“Who shoots an oil barrel when they’re that close?!” Sam leaned over from cover to take a shot, while Alex did the same, taking two other gunmen down.

“I can see that you’re still shouting!” Alex took another shot.

“You deserve it!” Sam took another shot, but a bullet hit her in the chest as she was settling back. 

Alex jumped over her, fear visible in her eyes. “You’re okay, you’re okay...” she reached for Sam’s shirt, her hands instinctively covering over the wound. “You’re okay...”

“Alex...”

“You’re okay...” Alex kept her hands still, while the gunshots behind them started dying down, indicating the fight was almost over as the rest of the riders were finished off by the town folk.

“I am.” Sam gulped.

“Don’t worry...” Alex said, her eyes burning with tears unspilled. Then something started nagging on her. _’Where’s the blood?’_ She slowly retrieved her hands, only to see a small hole on Sam’s shirt. “You’re okay. How?”

“Alex...” Sam exhaled.

“Alex!” 

“Sam!”

Two very recognizable voices shouted, as Alex’s hearing started to return. It was as if she was under water, but she would recognize that sound anywhere. Alex rolled back on her feet, glancing over the window once to make sure, then fully stood up.

“Kara?” Alex questioned. Her sister was standing in the middle of the road, with Lena right next to her.

“Can’t leave you guys alone, can we?” Lena commented, her eyes roaming over the town, and the destruction.

“I guess we all need to have a talk.” Sam stood up after Alex.

“That’s the understatement of the century.” Alex scoffed bitterly, all the emotions rushing in her head. A moment ago, she had thought Sam was gone, and now she was standing next to her, only indication a hole on her shirt.

Alex turned and walked to the door, slamming it right after her. It didn’t do anything to help the ringing in her ears, but she was to hopped on adrenaline to care. She walked to Kara, as gravel and broken glass crunched beneath her feet, while Kara pulled her in a hug.

Then her leg finally gave in, as the world went dark, but Kara and Sam caught her before she hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Attempts to create Danvarias angst and runs for cover*

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Supergirl fanfiction. I would love to hear what you thought. I am not a native speaker and any critisism is appreciated.


End file.
